Antidiabetic Activity of Vinca rosea

Figure: A

Diabetes mellitus is one of the common metabolic disorders with micro-and macrovascular complications that results in significant morbidity and mortality. It is considered as one of the five leading causes of death in the world [1, 2]. In modern medicine no satisfactory effective therapy is still available to cure diabetes mellitus [3]. There is increasing demand by patients to use natural products with antidiabetic activity due to side effects associated with the use of insulin and oral hypoglycemic agents [4–6]. There are numerous traditional medicinal plants reported to have hypoglycemic properties such as Allium sativum (Garlic), Azadirachta indica (Neem), Vinca rosea (Nayantara), Trigonella foenum (Fenugreek), Momordica charantia (Bitter ground), Ocimum santum (Tulsi). Many of these are less effective in lowering glucose levels in severe diabetes.

Vinca rosea (C. roseus) Linn. (Apocynaceae) is an herbaceous subshrub also known as Madagascar periwinkle, Vinca rosea, or Lchnera rosea worldwide. It is cultivated mainly for its alkaloids, which are having anticancer activities [7]. The two classes of active compounds in Vinca are alkaloids and tannins. Catharanthus roseus produces more than 100 monoterpenoids indole alkaloids (TIA) in different organs [8]. The leaves and stems are the sources of dimeric alkaloids, vinacristine and vinblastine that are indispensable cancer drugs, while roots have antihypertensive, ajmalicine and serpentine [9]. The leaves are used traditionally in various regions of the world including India, West Indies as well as Nigeria to control diabetes [10]. The leaves have been known to contain 150 useful alkaloids among other pharmacologically active compounds. Significant antihyperglycemic and hypotensive activity of the leaf extracts (hydroalcoholic or dichloromethane-methanol) have been reported in laboratory animals [11]. Fresh leaf juice of C. roseus has been reported to reduce blood glucose in normal and alloxan diabetic rabbits [12]. Leaves and twigs of Catharanthus roseus have been reported to have hypoglycaemic activity in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats [13]. In this study the prolonged effect (up to 14 day) of the methanolic extracts of whole plant of Vinca rosea in fasting blood glucose (FBG) and biochemical parameters such as serum total cholesterol (TC), LDL, HDL, creatinine, urea, and alkaline phosphatase were studied in alloxan induced diabetic rats. Hence on the above fact no study has been carried out on methanolic extracts of whole plant of Vinca rosea in alloxan induced diabetic rats. Thus the present study is an attempt to test the antidiabetic activity of whole plant of the Vinca rosea.

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