Abstract

ANTIHYPERGLYCEMIC ACTIVITY STUDIES WITH NON-BOILED AND BOILED CAJANUS CAJAN (L.) MILLSP. SEEDS

Hussain Ahmed, Md. Kamrujjaman, Mahnaz Hossain Fariba and Mohammed Rahmatullah*

Abstract

Background. Cajanus cajan is a leguminous plant with edible seeds. Since diabetes, which causes elevated blood glucose levels and leads to often fatal complications, is reaching alarming proportions throughout the world, it was of interest to evaluate various plants of Bangladesh for their potential antihyperglycemic activity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the antihyperglycemic potential of boiled and non-boiled seeds of Cajanus cajan. Methods. Oral glucose tolerance test was done to evaluate antihyperglycemic potential. Results. In oral glucose tolerance tests, methanol extract of non-boiled seeds of Cajanus cajan (MECCNB) significantly and dose-dependently reduced blood glucose levels in glucose-loaded mice by 19.0, 31.4, 33.3, and 41.2%, respectively, at doses of 50, 100, 200 and 400 mg per kg body weight in mice. At the afore-mentioned four doses, methanolic extract of boiled seeds (MECCB) dose-dependently and significantly reduced blood glucose levels in glucose loaded mice, respectively, by 12.7, 21.6, 34.3, and 34.3%. By comparison, a standard antihyperglycemic drug, glibenclamide, reduced blood glucose levels by 43.8% at a dose of 10 mg per kg. Conclusion. Since the seeds form a common pulse item consumed by all sections of the population in Bangladesh, both non-boiled and boiled seeds, particularly the latter (since they are consumed frequently) can form an affordable means of lowering blood glucose in diabetic patients of the country.

Keywords: Antihyperglycemic, Cajanus cajan, Arhar, Fabaceae.