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BackgroundMoringa stenopetala has been used in traditional health systems to treat diabetes mellitus. The aim of this study was to investigate the antidiabetic activity of aqueous ethanol and n-butanol fraction of Moringa stenopetala leaves in streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats.MethodsThe aqueous ethanol extract and n-butanol fraction of Moringa stenopetala leaves hydroalcoholic (500 mg/kg body weight) and metformin (150 mg/kg body weight) were administered to diabetic rats. Blood glucose, lipid profiles, liver and kidney function were examined after 14 days of experiment. Histopathological profile of the pancreas was also observed in diabetic rats at the end of study. An oral sucrose challenge test was also carried out to assess the post prandial effect of the extract.ResultsOral administration of the aqueous ethanol and n-butanol extracts of Moringa stenopetala leaves (500 mg/kg body weight) and metformin (150 mg/kg) significantly reduced blood glucose level (P < 0.05), improved serum lipid profiles, liver enzymes and kidney functions in diabetic rats after 14 days. The extracts also improved damage of islet of Langerhan’s in diabetic rats. The plant material reduced the post-prandial glucose level (P < 0.001) at the dose of 750 mg/kg.ConclusionThese findings revealed that both the aqueous ethanol and n-butanol extracts of Moringa stenopetala leaves possess antihyperglycemic and antihyperlipidemic properties, and alleviate STZ-induced pancreatic damage in diabetic rats. The beneficial effects of plant material in inhibition of diabetes-induced complications are being investigated.

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Background: Malaria is a major public health problem in the world in general and developing countries in particular, causing an estimated 1-2 million deaths per year, an annual incidence of 300-500 million clinical cases and more than 2 billion people are at risk of infection from it. But it is also becoming more difficult to treat malaria due to the increasing drug resistance. Therefore, the need for alternative drugs is acute. Objective: This study aims at investigating the in vivo antiplasmodial activity of extracts of the roots and area parts from traditionally used medicinal plant, named Asparagus africanus (Liliaceae). Methods: A rodent malaria parasite, Plasmodium berghei, which was maintained at the Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute (EHNRI) laboratory, was inoculated into Swiss albino mice. The mice were infected with 1x10 7 parasites intraperitoneally. The extracts were administered by an intra gastric tube daily for four days starting from the day of parasite inoculation. The control groups received the same amount of solvent (vehicle) used to suspend each dose of the herbal drug. Chloroquine was used as a standard drug, and was administered through the same route. Results: Extracts from the roots and aerial parts of A.africanus were observed to inhibit Plasomodium berghei parasitaemia in the Swiss albino mice by 46.1% and 40.7% respectively. Conclusion: The study could partly confirm the claim in Ethiopian traditional medicine that the plant has therapeutic values in human malaria. There is, thus, the need to initiate further in-depth investigation by using different experimental models.

BackgroundMoringa stenopetala has been used in traditional health systems to treat diabetes mellitus. One of the successful methods to prevent of the onset of diabetes is to control postprandial hyperglycemia by the inhibition of α-glucosidase and pancreatic α-amylase activities, resulting in the aggressive delay of the carbohydrate digestion of absorbable monosaccharides. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of the extract of the leaves of Moringa stenopetala on α-glucosidase, pancreatic α-amylase, pancreatic lipase, and pancreatic cholesterol esterase activities, and, therefore find out the relevance of the plant in controlling blood sugar and lipid levels.MethodsThe dried leaves of Moringa stenopetala were extracted with hydroalcoholic solvent and dried using rotary vapor under reduced pressure. The dried extracts were determined for the total phenolic compounds, flavonoid content and condensed tannins content by using Folin-Ciocateu’s reagent, AlCl3 and vanillin assay, respectively. The dried extract of plant-based food was further quantified with respect to intestinal α-glucosidase (maltase and sucrase) inhibition and pancreatic α-amylase inhibition by glucose oxidase method and dinitrosalicylic (DNS) reagent, respectively.ResultsThe phytochemical analysis indicated that flavonoid, total phenolic, and condensed tannin contents in the extract were 71.73 ± 2.48 mg quercetin equivalent/g of crude extract, 79.81 ± 2.85 mg of gallic acid equivalent/g of crude extract, 8.82 ± 0.77 mg catechin equivalent/g of crude extract, respectively. The extract inhibited intestinal sucrase more than intestinal maltase with IC50 value of 1.47 ± 0.19 mg/ml. It also slightly inhibited pancreatic α-amylase, pancreatic lipase and pancreatic cholesterol esterase.ConclusionThe result demonstrated the beneficial biochemical effects of Moringa stenopetala by inhibiting intestinal α-glucosidase, pancreatic cholesterol esterase and pancreatic lipase activities. A daily supplement intake of the leaves of Moringa stenopetala may help in reducing hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia.

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Background: Moringa stenopetala (Baker f.) Cufod. is a medicinal plant that has been used in Ethiopian traditional medicine as a remedy for treatment of hypertension and diabetes. The aim of this study was to evaluate antihypertensive and antihyperlipidemic effect in fructose induced hypertensive rats.Methods: Rats were randomly divided into control and treatment groups (n = 6). Treatment groups were given daily extracts (250, 500, and 1000 mg/kg) orally with fructose. Whereas, positive, negative and normal control groups were received captopril (20 mg/kg/day with fructose), only fructose (66% w/v ad libitum) and distilled water ad libitum for 15 days, respectively. The blood pressure was measured every 5th day using tail cuff blood pressure analyzer, and on the 16th day the blood was sampled to evaluate antihyperlipidemic effect using clinical chemistry analyzer.Results: The study showed that aqueous and 70% ethanol extracts significantly prevented blood pressure increment in a dose dependent manner comparable to that of the standard drug. Similarly, the extracts suppressed increment in lipid profile (cholesterol, glucose, and triglycerides) compared with negative control. The biochemical test revealed that extracts produced a rise in liver but no effect on kidney function indicators compared with normal control.Conclusion: These findings revealed that both crude extracts of M. stenopetala (Baker f.) Cufod. possess antihypertensive and antihyperlipidemic effect.