Glucose is a primary energy source for most cells and an important substrate for many biochemical reactions. As glucose is a need of each and every cell of the body, so are the glucose transporters. Consequently, all cells express these important proteins on their surface. In recent years developments in genetics have shed new light on the types and physiology of various glucose transporters, of which there are two main types-sodium-glucose linked transporters (SGLTs) and facilitated diffusion glucose transporters (GLUT)-which can be divided into many more subclasses. Transporters differ in terms of their substrate specificity, distribution and regulatory mechanisms. Glucose transporters have also received much attention as therapeutic targets for various diseases. In this review, we attempt to present a simplified view of this complex topic which may be of interest to researchers involved in biochemical and pharmacological research.

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Background:The purpose of the present research work was to extract jackfruit mucilage, use it as a mucoadhesive agent, and to develop extended release buccoadhesive tablets with an intention to avoid hepatic first-pass metabolism, by enhancing residence time in the buccal cavity.Materials and Methods:The mucilage was isolated from the jackfruit pulp by the aqueous extraction method and characterized for various physiochemical parameters as well as for its adhesive properties. Three batches of tablets were prepared (wet granulation method) and evaluated containing three mucoadhesive components: Methocel K4M, Carbopol 974P, and isolated jackfruit mucilage using chlorpheniramine maleate (CPM) as a model drug and changing the proportion of the mucoadhesive component (1:2:3), resulting in nine different formulations.Results:The results of the study indicate that the isolated mucilage had good physicochemical and morphological characteristics, granules and tablets conformed to the Pharmacopoeial specifications, and in vitro release studies showed the sustained action of drug with increasing concentration of the isolated natural mucoadhesive agent in the formulations. Permeability studies indicated that changing the mucoadhesive component, permeability behavior was not statistically different (P > 0.05). FTIR and UV spectroscopy studies between mucilage and CPM suggested the absence of a chemical interaction between CPM and jackfruit mucilage.Conclusion:The developed mucoadhesive tablets for buccal administration containing natural mucilage (MF3) have a potential for the sustained action of drug release. Thus, mucoadhesive tablets for controlled release were successfully developed using natural jackfruit mucilage.

Background Diabetic nephropathy is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease. Hyperglycemia, oxidative stress, and inflammation are some of the mechanisms involved in renal damage. Anogeissus acuminata (AA) is used in India as an antidiabetic agent and has potent antioxidant activity. However, it has never been evaluated for its effect on diabetic nephropathy. Hence, in the present study we aimed to evaluate its effect on streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus and its renal complications. Methods Diabetes mellitus was induced by injecting streptozotocin, 50 mg/kg, i.p. in rats fasted for 6 h. Rats with hyperglycemia were treated with extracts of AA for 8 weeks at doses of 100 and 300 mg/kg, orally. Human NPH insulin (4 IU/kg, s.c.) was used as standard treatment. Plasma glucose levels (at weeks 1, 2, 4, and 8) and oxidative stress parameters (at weeks 2 and 4) were assessed. Effect on diabetic nephropathy was evaluated by recording the urinary volume, urinary protein excretion, kidney weights, serum creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen levels at week 8. Results Methanolic extract of AA leaves produced statistically significant (p<0.05) hypoglycemic and antioxidant effect. It also resulted in improved urinary function, reflected by better urinary volume and reduced protein excretion in urine. AA treatment could prevent the elevation of serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen level in a dose-dependent manner. Kidney hypertrophy could be attenuated remarkably, as reflected by the significantly lower kidney weight (KW) per 100 g body weight (p<0.05). Conclusions AA leaf extract attenuated the development of diabetic nephropathy and also demonstrated antidiabetic and antioxidant action.

Anogeissus acuminata (family Combretaceae) is a plant widely distributed in western parts of India like North Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. Parts of this plant are used in treatment of different conditions in traditional medicine. The plant is also used in other parts of world such as Thailand for treatment of diabetes mellitus. The plant is evaluated for various pharmacological actions. However, systematic phytochemical data for the plant is lacking. Therefore, we evaluated the methanolic extract of plant qualitatively and quantitatively. The methanolic extract of the leaves and bark of plant were found to possess abundant phenolic compounds namely, tannins and flavonoids. Quantitative determination of these extract revealed a presence of 24.57 and 13.63 %w/w tannin and 14.5 and 57% w/w flavonoids in leaf and bark extract respectively. HPTLC fingerprinting analysis of methanolic extract of leaf and bark with mobile phase (toluene: ethyl acetate: formic acid (4.5:3.0:0.2,v/v/v) confirmed the presence of four peaks in both the extracts with different Rf values at 254nm.