Stimulatory effect ofCeriops tagalon hexose uptake in L6 muscle cells in culture

Bioassay Directed Fractionation of Petroleum Ether Extract of Aerial Parts of Ceriops tagal: Isolation of Lupeol as the Nematicidal Agent against Cyst Nematode Heterodera zeae

Plant parasitic cyst nematode  Heterodera zeae  is a pest, causing substantial economic losses in agriculture. Organic pesticides, based on plant products have emerged as eco-benign nematicidal agents.  Ceriops tagal  is a well-known marine medicinal plant which has not been evaluated against any nematode. Petroleum ether extract of the aerial parts of the plant (CTP), exhibited promising activity against infective stage larvae of  H. zeae . On subjecting to classical solvent-solvent separation, it afforded petroleum ether soluble (CTP-S), methanol soluble ( CTPMS-1 , CTPMS-2) and insoluble (CTPM-IN-2) fractions, which exhibited activity against the cyst nematode within 24 h exposure. GC, GCMS and ESI-HRMS analyses of CTPMS-1 and CTPMS-2 fractions resulted in the identification of a number of compounds, including pentacyclic triterpenoids, lupeol ( 1 ), betunal ( 2 ), betulin ( 3 ), lupenone ( 4 ), betulonaldehyde ( 5 ), betulonic acid ( 7 ), methyl-3-acetoxy-27- O -(3,4-dihydroxy- E -cinnamoyl)-20(29)-lupen-28-oate ( 8 ) and  β -amyrin, along with phenylpropanoid esters, fatty acids and their derivatives, benzamide, and indole derivatives. CTPM-IN-2 which mainly contained lupeol ( 1 ) exhibited maximum nematicidal activity, with 91% and 93% mortality of the larvae of  H. zeae , after exposure for 72 h at the concentration of 0.5% and 1%, respectively. Its fractionation and purification through column chromatography resulted in the isolation and identification of four lupane-type triterpenoids  1 ,  3 ,  4  and betulinic acid ( 6 ). One of its most abundant column fractions CC-9-18 (145 mg) which exhibited substantial activity, with 81% mortality at the lowest concentration of 0.125% after 48 h of incubation mainly contained lupeol. It seems lupeol, a wide spread bio-privileged triterpenoid is the nematicidal principle of the plant as its authentic sample showed LC 50 value of 0.061 after 72 h exposure. It is for the first time that nematicidal activity is reported for any part of  C. tagal  and that of lupeol against  H. zeae.  Pentacyclic triterpenoids  1 - 8  are biosynthetically related. Of the twenty-four compounds isolated or identified in the present investigation only five constituents  1 ,  3 ,  6 ,  7  and palmitic acid have been isolated previously from  C. tagal .

A Review on Antidiabetic Properties of Indian Mangrove Plants with Reference to Island Ecosystem

Mangrove ecosystem has many potential species that are traditionally used by the coastal communities for their traditional cure for health ailments as evidenced by their extensive uses to treat hepatic disorders, diabetes, gastrointestinal disorders, anti-inflammation, anticancer, and skin diseases, etc. In recent times, the diabetes mellitus (DM), a serious physiological disorder all over the world, occur due to the relative or complete deficiency of insulin in the body, characterized by an abnormally high blood glucose level. India has a rich traditional knowledge on plant-based drug formulations that are protective and curative for many health ailments. In this context, we aimed to compile the works done on the antidiabetic activities of mangrove species from Indian coastal regions especially on Andaman and Nicobar Islands as well as some recent works reported from other countries. A total of 126 published articles and 31 mangrove species related pieces of information were gathered with reference to antidiabetic properties of mangroves. This review summarizes the chemical structures, molecular formula, molecular weight, and their biological activities with an aspiration that it might be helpful for the future bioprospecting industries who are interested in develop the natural drugs for DM.

Acute and subchronic antihyperglycemic activities of Bowdichia virgilioides roots in non-diabetic and diabetic rats

Aim:

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the acute and subchronic antihyperglycemic effects of methanolic extract of Bowdichia virgilioides root bark of B. virgilioides in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats.

Materials and Methods:

The extract (100, 250 or 500 mg/kg) was orally administered to male Wistar diabetic (STZ, 42 mg/kg i.v.) and non-diabetic rats into two main protocols: (i) subchronic experiments, where animals were treated for 21 days with B. virgilioides extract and the following parameters were evaluated: Body weight, fluid and food intake (determined daily), urinary glucose and urea (every 3 days) and glycemia (every 5 days). At the end of the experimental period, skeletal muscles (extensor digitorum longus [EDL] and soleus), retroperitoneal and epididymal white adipose tissues were collected and weighed; liver samples were used for the determination of the lipid and glycogen contents; (ii) acute experiments, which evaluated the alterations on fasting and post-prandial glycemia and on glucose tolerance using the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT).

Results:

In subchronic experiments, the treatment with B. virgilioides extract did not change any parameter evaluated in diabetic and non-diabetic animals. On fasting and post-prandial glycemia, the extract treatment did not promote changes in the glycemia values in diabetic or non-diabetic animals. In OGTT, the treatment with 500 mg/kg B. virgilioides extract reduced the hyperglycemia peak after a glucose overload, when compared with non-treated diabetic animals, resulting in a lower area under curve.

Conclusion:

The results of our work indicate that B. virgilioides root extract promotes an acute antihyperglycemic effect in STZ-diabetic rats; this effect probably occurs through an inhibition of the intestinal glucose absorption. The continuity of the research is necessary to elucidate these possibilities.

Thiazolidin-4-one and thiazinan-4-one derivatives analogous to rosiglitazone as potential antihyperglycemic and antidyslipidemic agents

A number of thiazolidin-4-one and thiazinan-4-one derivatives were prepared by three component condensation in one pot reaction method. These compounds were evaluated for anti-hyperglycemic activity by in vitro and in vivo assay systems. The compounds with thiazolidin-4-one and thiazinan-4-one moieties exhibited significant anti-hyperglycemic activity. A few compounds (3a, 3b, 4a and 4b) have exhibited both anti-hyperglycemic and anti-dyslipidemic activities. Among them the thiazinan-4-one derivative 4a showed maximal (45%) improvement in oral glucose tolerance test in db/db mice at 30 mg/kg oral dose.

Pongamol from Pongamia pinnata stimulates glucose uptake by increasing surface GLUT4 level in skeletal muscle cells

Skeletal muscle is the major site of postprandial glucose disposal and augmenting glucose uptake into this tissue may attenuate insulin resistance that precedes type 2 diabetes mellitus. Here, we investigated the effect of pongamol, an identified lead molecule from the fruits of Pongamia pinnata, on glucose uptake and GLUT4 translocation in skeletal muscle cells. In L6-GLUT4myc myotubes treatment with pongamol significantly promoted both glucose transport and GLUT4 translocation to the cell surface in a concentration-dependent manner, without changing the total amount of GLUT4 protein and GLUT4 mRNA, effects that were also additive with insulin. Cycloheximide treatment inhibited the effect of pongamol on GLUT4 translocation suggesting the requirement of new protein synthesis. The pongamol-induced increase in GLUT4 translocation was completely abolished by wortmannin, and pongamol significantly potentiated insulin-mediated phosphorylation of AKT (Ser-473). We conclude that pongamol-induced increase in glucose uptake in L6 myotubes is the result of an increased translocation of GLUT4 to plasma membrane, driven by a PI-3-K/AKT dependent mechanism.