The hypoglycemic effect of methanol leaf extracts from Cecropia obtusifolia and C. peltata was evaluated in healthy mice. A significant decrease (p < 0.05) in plasma glucose levels was recorded 2 and 4 h after a single oral administration of methanol extracts (1 g/kg). This effect was correlated with the chlorogenic acid contents in both species; C. peltata, containing 19.84 +/- 1.64 mg of chlorogenic acid/g of dried leaves produced the highest decrease (D(alpha 2,60) = 20.18, p < 0.05) of plasma glucose levels (52.8%). The extracts of C. obtusifolia from Tabasco and Veracruz, showed similar hypoglycemic effects (33.3% and 35.7%, respectively) and chlorogenic acid contents (Tukey(0.05) = 1.8859) (13.3 +/- 3.2 mg/g and 13.1 +/- 1.6 mg/g, respectively). The hypoglycemic effect produced by different doses (0.1, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1 g/kg body wt, p.o.) of C. peltata showed a lineal relationship with chlorogenic acid content, reaching an ED(50) = 0.540 g/kg body wt for extract, and an ED(50) = 10.8 mg/kg body wt for chlorogenic acid. These results suggest that C. peltata is a better hypoglycemic agent than C. obtusifolia, and it could be considered for developing a phytomedicinal product to carry out clinical trials.

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