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Abstract

Inflammation is a chemical-mediated defense mechanism of body. Inflammatory process is also associated with development of various diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, atherosclerosis, and diabetes. Diabetes mellitus is a most common and life-threatening health problem in today's date. Several marketed anti-diabetic drugs are characterized with side effects. Hence there is a need to search a safe and effective anti-diabetic drug. In that regard, the present study was carried out to ascertain phytochemical constituents and to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic effect of an Indian traditional medicinal plant, Holarrhena pubescens (seed). The dried and powdered seeds of H. pubescens was extracted by ethanol and then fractionated successively. These fractions were evaluated further for anti-inflammatory activity by in vivo models for acute and chronic inflammation. The anti-diabetic activity of plant materials was evaluated by oral glucose tolerance test and blood sugar estimation in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat model. The results of the present study illustrated that the petroleum ether fraction (HPPT) of the plant material at 400 mg/kg dose showed the most potent and significant (p<0.01) effect in anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic studies among all the test drugs. The chloroform fraction (HPC) of the plant material had also shown a significant effect in pharmacological studies. Hence, the findings of the study suggested the anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic potential of the plant material. INTRODUCTION:Diabetes mellitus (DM), a metabolic disorder, is characterized by hyperglycemia and disturbance in the metabolism of carbohydrate, protein, fat 1 . As per the report of WHO, by the year 2040 globally 642 million people will suffer from diabetes 2 .