Medicinal plants are at great interest to the researcher in the field of biotechnology, as most of the drug industries depend in medicinal plants for the production of pharmaceutical compounds. Plants are the traditional sources for many chemicals used as pharmaceutical biochemicals, fragrances, food colours and flavours in different countries especially in India. Most herbal medicines and their derivative products were often prepared from crude plant extracts, which comprise a complex mixture of different phytochemical constituents (plant secondary metabolites). The chemical features of these constituents differ considerably among different species. GC-MS method used for the analysis of the obtained extracts can be an interesting tool for testing the amount of some active principles in herbs used in cosmetic, drugs, pharmaceutical or food industry. The aim of this study was to carry out for identification of bioactive compounds from the whole plant ethanolic extract of Evolvulus alsinoides by Gas chromatography and Mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). GCMS analysis of ethanolic extract was done by standard protocol using the equipment Thermo GC-Trace Ultra Version: 5.0, Thermo MS DSQ II. The GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of various compounds like piperine, octodeconoic acids, hexadecanoic acid and squalene in the ethanolic extract of Evolvulus alsinoides. Hence, the Evolvulus alsinoides may have chemopreventive, anticancer, anti-microbial activity, antioxidant and antidiabetic activity due to the presence of secondary metabolites in the ethanolic extract. Due to the presence of esters which can be used as a flavoring agent in food industries. These findings support the traditional use of Evolvulus alsinoides in various disorders. Further studies are needed to isolate active principle of the extract as well as to elucidate their exact mechanism of action in various disorders.

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AimDiabetes mellitus (DM), a leading non communicable disease with multiple etiologies is considered as third greatest cause of death in all over the world. During DM, persistent hyperglycemia causes an increased production of free radicals via auto oxidation of glucose and non-enzymatic protein glycation which may lead to disruption of cellular functions and oxidative damage to membranes. The present study was designed to investigate the therapeutic effect of Evolvulus alsinoides on antioxidant activity in pancreas of experimental diabetes.MethodsThe antioxidant activities were done by using standard protocols. For histopathological analysis, the pancreatic tissues of all experimental groups were fixed with 10% formalin for 24 hrs then the samples were stained with haemotoxylin-eosin for the microscopic observation.ResultsOral administration of plant extract for 45 days resulted in significant antioxidant activity, increases the insulin level and also inhibits lipid peroxidation in pancreas of streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. The histopathological studies showed the normal histology of pancreas after treatment with plant extract and glibenclamide. This study showed that the administration of Evolvulus alsinoides to streptozotocin induced diabetic rats improves the antioxidant activity and remodel the structure of pancreas due to the presence of secondary metabolites like phenols, flavonoids, alkaloids, steroids, terpenoids and glycosides in the ethanolic extract of plant material.ConclusionFrom the present study, it can be concluded that the plant extract effectively reduced the oxidative stress induced by streptozotocin and potentially increased the insulin level. Hence, it can be used in the management of diabetes mellitus.

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Diabetes mellitus is the most common endocrine disorder that impairs glucose homeostasis resulting in severe diabetic complications including retinopathy, angiopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy causing neurological disorders due to perturbation in utilization of glucose. Hypoglycemic activity was detected in aqueous extract of Passiflora ligularis, a traditionally used medicinal plant, using streptozotocin (STZ, 30 mg/kg body weight) induced diabetic rat model. Oral administration of aqueous extract of Passiflora ligularis to diabetic rats for 30 days resulted in a decrease in blood glucose. The diabetic rats had decreased levels of serum total protein, albumin, globulin, and albumin/globulin ratio as compared to control rats. In addition, the activities of hepatic and renal markers were significantly elevated in diabetic rats as compared to control rats. Treatment with aqueous fruit extract of P. ligularis and glibenclamide reversed these parameters to near normal. Extract at a dose of 400 mg/kg given orally for 30 days showed significant elevation in enzymatic (SOD, catalase, and Gpx) and nonenzymatic antioxidants (vitamin C, vitamin E, and reduced glutathione). Plant extract treated groups showed significant decrease in lipid peroxidation (LPO). Aqueous extract of Passiflora ligularis fruit can decrease the blood glucose and reduce the oxidative stress by removing free radicals in diabetes.

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Many beneficial medicinal products are used to treat various serious diseases and disorders like diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases without side effects. Hence our study focused to investigate the phytochemical analysis, quantification of bioactive compounds (alkaloid, phenols, flavonoids), in vitro free radical scavenging activity, anti-inflammatory activity (Membrane stabilization assay), in vitro anti-diabetic activity by enzyme inhibition activity, glucose uptake assay in isolated rat hemi-diaphragm and in yeast cells and also record GC-MS profile of Erythrina variegata L. bark (methanolic extract) which has boundless medicinal properties. The results of this study showed the evidence that the extracts when tested for their phytochemicals and free radical scavenging activity were found to have considerable antioxidant potential. This plant also exhibit better in vitro enzyme inhibitory activity, inhibition of non-enzymatic glycosylation of hemoglobin, in vitro anti-diabetic activity proved by glucose uptake assays and anti-inflammatory activity. GC-MS analysis of methanolic extract of Erythrina variegata L. bark revealed the presence of 58 compounds which are responsible for pharmacological activities. The results of this study indicate that the methanolic extract of Erythrina variegata L. bark has significant pharmacological properties.

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common endocrine metabolic disorders. Dual endocrine deficits of impaired insulin action (insulin resistance) and inadequate insulin secretion create an environment of chronic hyperglycemia and general metabolic disarray. Oxidative stress plays an important role in diabetic pathogenesis. Oxidative stress induced by streptozotocin (STZ) has been shown to damage pancreatic beta cell and produce hyperglycemia in rats. The present study was made to evaluate the antioxidant activity of ethanolic extract of the Evolvulus alsinoides in STZ induced rats. The antioxidant activities were done by using standard protocols. For histopathological analysis, the pancreatic tissues of all experimental groups were fixed with 10 % formalin for 24 h then the samples were stained with hematoxylin-eosin for the microscopic observation. Our results showed the significant decrease in lipid peroxidation and increases in the antioxidant (both enzymatic and nonenzymatic) levels after treatment with standard as well as the E. alsinoides. There is no significant difference between control and plant alone group rats. The histopathology reports also revealed non-toxic effect and protective effect of E. alsinoides in the kidney of STZ induced diabetic rats. Our result indicated that the E. alsinoides extract effectively increased the antioxidant level thereby it prevents oxidative stress during diabetes mellitus and also it showed the protective effect on kidney of STZ induced rats. Hence it can be used to maintain the antioxidant level during diabetes mellitus.