Lack of Antidiabetic Effect of (-)-Epicatechin

A double blind randomised placebo controlled cross over study of a herbal preparation containing Salacia reticulata in the treatment of type 2 diabetes

“…The preparation of Kothala Himbutu tea we used also contains Pterocarpus marsupium (Gammalu) in addition to Salacia reticulata. Epicatechin, a flavinoid isolated from Pterocarpus marsupium, is reported to enhance insulin release from rat islet cells in vitro (Hii and Howell, 1985) but with no effect on glycaemic control in rodents (Kulb et al, 1982).…”

Antihyperlipidemic Effect of Flavonoids from Pterocarpus marsupium

“…Pt. marsupium is primarily known for its hypoglycemic activity, and (-)-epicatechin, a constituent of the stem bark of this plant, is believed to be the principle responsible for this activity (22) though the validity of this claim has been questioned (23,24). The hypolipidemic activity of this plant is also on record, and following the lead of a preliminary communication (9) describing the cholesterol-lowering activity of the aqueous decoction of the heartwood of the plant, a systematic investigation was taken up.…”

Hypoglycaemic activity ofPterocarpus marsupium Roxb.

“…Insulin like activity of (-)-epicatechin has also been reported (Ahmed et al, 1989;1991). (-)-Epicatechin isolated from the bark of Pterocarpus marsupium was found to have protective and restorative effects in alloxan induced diabetic rats (Chakravarthy et al, 1981) though it could not be reproduced by Kolb et al (1982). Other phenolic constituents such as marsupin, protosupin and pterostilbene have also been shown to have significant antidiabetic activity in streptozotocin induced hyperglycaemia animals (Manickam, 1997).…”