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The hypoglycaemic effect of orally administered extracts of leaves and roots of Coccinia indica has been reported earlier. The oral administration of the pectin isolated from the fruit of the above plant at a dose of 200 mg/100 g BW/day showed a significant hypoglycaemic action in normal rats. Pectins isolated from many other plants have also been reported to have hypoglycaemic actions. The pectin administration resulted in a significant reduction in blood glucose and an increase in the liver glycogen. Glycogen synthetase activity was highly significant. Incorporation of labelled glucose into hepatic glycogen was also found to be higher. A significant reduction in phosphorylase activity was noted in the pectin-administered groups.

The inherent reactivity of the aziridine ring due to ring-strain makes it valuable building blocks for the synthesis of other heterocyclic motifs of biological relevance. Of particular significance is the generation of azomethine ylides from them and cycloaddition of ylides with alkenes, alkynes, and heterocumulenes. The ring undergoes opening followed by cyclization with a variety of reagents either in the presence of a catalyst or without any catalyst. This review article discusses the recent applications of aziridines in syntheses of four-to seven-membered heterocycles of biological relevance such as azetidines, 2