Antidiabetic Effect of Zygophyllum geslini Aerial Part: In Vivo and In Vitro Studies

Abstract

Zygophyllum geslini Coss. is widely found in the Algerian Sahara. This species is known to treat diabetes mellitus. The objective of this study is to evaluate the glucoselowering effect of aqueous extract of the defatted aerial part from Zygophyllum geslini. Extract was prepared by macerating the plant powder during 24 h in chloroform followed by acetone and water separately. Finally, the aqueous extract (Zygophyllum geslini aqueous extract [ZgAE]) was tested in normal and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. In addition, the inhibitory effect of the extract on porcine pancreatic α-amylase was tested. ZgAE is rich with saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids, mucilage, and amino acids. On the fast hyperglycemia, the decrease level is of 21% for the diabetic treated rats by ZgAE (100 mg/kg) and 31% for diabetic treated rats by glimepiride (100 μg/kg). In addition, ZgAE at 0.429 mg/ml can inhibit 50% of the porcine pancreatic α-amylase activity. Plant, especially ZgAE, can be considered as excellent candidate for future studies on diabetes mellitus.