Enhydra fluctuans is one of the medicinal plants of the Minangkabau tribe, West Sumatra, Indonesia which is widely used by the community to treat various diseases including diabetes mellitus. However, scientific studying of its hypoglycemic activity is very limited. In this study, we evaluated the hypoglycemic activity of E. fluctuans aerial ethanol using an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in stable hyperglycemia rats and its phytochemical screening. Twenty-five diabetic rats were divided into five groups with five replications: negative control, positive control (glibenclamide), ethanol extract dosage of 250, 500, and 1000 mg/kg. Blood glucose is measured at 0, 30, 60, 120, and 180 minutes. Blood glucose level, the area under the curve (AUC) value, and the percentage of blood glucose reduction is calculated. It was found that a dosage of 500 mg/kg was the best hypoglycemic activity in stable hyperglycemia rats and significantly different (p<0.05) compared with the negative control. Hypoglycemic activity of this dosage was longer if compared with glibenclamide. E. fluctuans aerial ethanol extract contained saponins, phenolic, terpenoids, steroids, and coumarin compounds. Our findings demonstrate that E. fluctuans have potent hypoglycemic effects in diabetes.

This study aimed to assess the protective effect of the n-hexane fraction of Enhydra fluctuans aerial against insulitis in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. A total of 30 male rats (five normal rats and 25 diabetic rats) were assigned to one of six groups (n = 5/groups): group 1 is the normal rat group (GN) was without treatment, group 2 is diabetic rat was given 0.5% Na-CMC (G0), group 3 is diabetic rat was given glibenclamide 0.45 mg/kg body weight (G1), group 4, 5, and 6 are diabetic rats were given n-hexane fraction doses of 57.03, 114.06, and 171.09 mg/kg body weight respectively. The experiment was carried out over 21 days. Blood glucose was measured on the first and latest day of treatment. Furthermore, insulin levels, the number of pancreatic β-cell, and degrees of insulitis were evaluated. The nhexane fraction reduced blood glucose, increased insulin levels, and increased the number of pancreatic β-cell significantly in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. The administration of the n-hexane fraction at a dose of 57.03 mg/kg body weight exerted the best protective effect against insulitis and promoted regeneration of the islet of Langerhans. The results of this study indicate that this herb could effectively reduce insulitis and promote the regeneration of pancreatic tissue under diabetes. Thus, E. fluctuans has the potential to be developed as a novel diabetes drug.

AIM: The aim of this study was to explore the effect of n-hexane fraction of Enhydra fluctuans aerial on kidney function in alloxan induced diabetic rats. METHODS: Five groups of diabetic Wistar rats were studied: Group 1 was given 0.5% Na-CMC (G0), group 2 was given glibenclamide 0.45 mg/kg (G1), groups 3, 4, and 5 were given a dose of n-hexane fraction 57.03, 114.06, and 171.09 mg/kg respectively. The experiment was completed in 21 days. Blood glucose was estimated on day 0 and day 21 of treatment. Histology of kidney, creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) was examined. ANOVA was used to evaluate quantitative data, which was then followed by Duncan's new multiple range test (p < 0.05). RESULTS: Our results demonstrate that n-hexane fraction dosages of 57.03 mg/kg and 114,06 mg/kg significantly improved blood glucose profile, BUN, and creatinine in diabetic rats. Moreover, the dosage of 57.03 mg/kg is effective to counteract necrosis and fibrosis of kidney cells.   CONCLUSION: Our findings revealed that the administration of the n-hexane fraction of E. fluctuans aerial improved the kidney function of diabetic rats, especially at the dosage of 57.03 mg/kg. Therefore, E. fluctuans can be relied upon to be a drug to prevent the development of diabetes mellitus and diabetic nephropathy.