In Vivo Antihyperglycemic Activity of a Lanosteryl Triterpene from Protorhus longifolia

Abstract

Control of postprandial hyperglycemia is crucial in the management of diabetes mellitus. Despite the use of the current hypoglycemic drugs, incidence of diabetes and related diseases continue to increase. This study aimed at evaluating the in vivo antihyperglycemic activity of methyl-3β-hydroxylanosta-9,24-dien-21-oate (RA-3), a lanosteryl triterpene isolated, and characterized from Protorhus longifolia stem bark. Spectroscopic data analysis was used to establish and verify the structure of the triterpene. The antihyperglycemic activity of the triterpene was evaluated in an STZ-induced diabetes rat model. The experimental animals were orally administered with RA-3 (100 mg/kg body weight) daily for 14 days. An oral glucose tolerance test was also performed. The animals were euthanized and biochemical analysis of antioxidant status, some glycolytic enzymes and glycogen content were conducted on serum and liver samples, respectively. RA-3 exhibited hypoglycemic activity by reducing blood glucose levels by 37%. The triterpene also improved glucose tolerance in the diabetic rats. Relatively higher hepatic glycogen content, hexokinase and glucokinase activity with a decrease in glucose-6-phosphatase activity were observed in the triterpene-treated diabetic group when compared with the diabetic control group. The triterpene treatment further increased antioxidant status of the diabetic animals; increased activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase were observed along with a decrease in malondialdehyde content. The results OPEN ACCESSMolecules 2015, 20 13375 indicate potential pharmaceutical effects of lanosteryl triterpene in the management of diabetes mellitus.

Cardioprotective potential of a lanosteryl triterpene from Protorhus longifolia

“…Some reported bioactivities of RA-3, which include anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory (Mosa 2014), antihyperglycemic (Mosa et al 2015) and antihyperlipidemic (Machaba et al 2014) activities, are all indicative of the potential cardioprotective effect of the triterpene. The results obtained from this study confirmed that the lanosteryl triterpene [methyl-3b-hydroxylanosta-9, 24-dien-21-oate, RA-3] possesses the cardioprotective effect.…”

“…The observed increased serum GSH content and CAT activity, along with a decrease in MDA content (Table 2) in the triterpene pretreated group is indicative of the compound's ability to exert its cardioprotective effect through increasing the tissue antioxidant capacity. The ability of RA-3 to increase endogenous antioxidant capacity has also been demonstrated in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic animals (Mosa et al 2015).…”

“…The demand for alternative and more efficient forms of treatment against CVD cannot be over emphasized. Some triterpenes including methyl-3b-hydroxylanosta-9,24-dien-21-oate (RA-3) from Protorhus longifolia, have been reported to possess potential bioactivities (Allouche et al 2010;Machaba et al 2014;Mosa et al 2015) beneficial to CVD prevention.…”

“…Engl. (Anacardiaceae), has also been reported to possess anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory (Mosa 2014), antihyperlipidemic (Machaba et al 2014;Mosa et al 2014) and antihyperglycemic (Mosa et al 2015) activities. The hypolipidemic activity of RA-3 has been reported to be accompanied by reductions in atherogenic index and coronary risk index (Machaba et al 2014), thus indicative of its potential cardioprotective benefit.…”

Effects of Ageratum conyzoides Leaf Decoction on Glucose Absorption in Rat’s Small Intestine

“…9 Flavonoid, triterpen and alkaloids are known for their antihyperglycemic effect. [10][11][12][13] Flavonoid impedes glucose absorption by blocking the GLUT-2 transporter in the small intestine. 14 From these active substrate contained inside, it is highly expected that Ageratum conyzoides…”