Affiliations 

  • 1 Pharmacology and Therapeutics Department, Medical Faculty, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan 20155, Indonesia
  • 2 Department of Toxicology, Advanced Medical and Dental Institute, Sains@Bertam, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang 13200, Malaysia
  • 3 Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang 11800, Malaysia
Molecules, 2022 Oct 12;27(20).
PMID: 36296407 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27206814

Abstract

(1) Background: An earlier study on the hypoglycemic activity of S. polyanthum (Wight.) leaf methanol extract identified squalene as the major chemical compound. The present study was conducted to assess the hypoglycemic effect of fractions and subfractions of the methanol extract of S. polyanthum compared to the squalene using a bioassay-guided in vivo study. (2) Methods: The methanol extract was fractionated using the liquid−liquid fractionation method. Streptozotocin-induced type 1 diabetic rat was used to study the hypoglycemic effect. (3) Results: The findings showed that chloroform fraction significantly (p < 0.05) lowered blood glucose levels of diabetic rats as compared to the control. Further fractionation of chloroform fraction yielded subfraction-1 and -2, whereby subfraction-1 exhibited a higher blood-glucose-lowering effect. The lipid profile test showed that the total cholesterol level of subfraction-1 and squalene-treated groups decreased significantly (p < 0.05). An immunohistochemistry study revealed that none of the treatments regenerated pancreatic β-cells. Gas chromatography−mass spectrophotometer analysis identified the presence of squalene in the active methanol extract, chloroform fraction, and subfraction-1. In silico analysis revealed a higher affinity of squalene against protein receptors that control lipid metabolism than metformin. (4) Conclusions: Data obtained from the present work suggested the crude methanol extract exerted the highest hypoglycemic effect compared to fraction, subfraction, and squalene, confirming synergistic effect may be responsible for the hypoglycemic activity of S. polyanthum.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.