Hypoglycemic Activity of 96% Ethanolic Extract

E-Journal Planta Husada Vol.1 Oktober 2013

Hypoglycemic Activity of 96% Ethanolic Extract of Andrographis paniculata Nees. and Swietenia
mahagoni Jacq. Combination.
Sukardiman*), Riza Nurayu F., Rakhmawati, Herra Studiawan, Mulja Hadi S., Abdul Rahman
Department of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya,
Indonesia.
*)

email : maman_ht@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
Diabetes mellitus is a heterogeneous group of syndromes characterized by an elevation of
blood glucose caused by a relative or absolute deficiency of insulin. The incidence of diabetes is
growing rapidly worldwide. Drug treatment for diabetes mellitus is expensive and carries risks for
many adverse effects. Indonesia is one of rich emporium of medicinal plants useful in the
treatment of diabetes. This research was performed to measure the hypoglycemic activity of
ethanolic extract of Andrographis paniculata herbs and Swietenia mahagoni seeds and its
combination in experimentally in alloxan-induced diabetic mice.
The 96% ethanolic extract of Andrographis paniculata herbs, Swietenia mahagoni seeds, and
their combination with ratio 1:1, 1:2 and 2:1 (28 mg/20 g BW), was administered orally to groups
I, II, III, IV and V for seven days. The reference drug glibenclamide (0.013 mg/10 g BW) and
CMC-Na were also administered orally to mice as positive and negative control group
respectively.
Administration of those extract produced significant reduce in the blood glucose level (BGL)
compared to negative control group. The 96% ethanolic extract combination of Andrographis
paniculata Nees. herbs and Swietenia mahagoni Jacq. seeds with ratio 2:1 showed the biggest
reduction in BGL (250.80 mg/dl). The 96% ethanolic extract of Andrographis paniculata and
Swietenia mahagoni showed BGL reduction of (232.00 mg/dl) and (28.00 mg/dl) respectively. The
combination with ratio 1:1 and 1:2 has significant BGL of (213.60 mg/dl) and (237.60 mg/dl)
respectively.
Keywords: Andrographis paniculata Nees., Swietenia mahagoni Jacq., hypoglycemic activity,
ethanolic extract.

INTRODUCTION
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a group of metabolic
syndromes or metabolic disorders characterized by
hyperglycemia, It is associated with abnormalities
in the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, and
proteins (Triplitt et al., 2008). Modern therapy for
NIDDM involves tiered treatments. It starts with
diet modification before moving on to the oral antidiabetic drugs and insulin. The use of oral antidiabetic drugs such as sulfonylureas and biguanid
is limited by their pharmacokinetic characteristics,
secondary failure rate and the accompanying
significant side effects (Tzoulaki et al., 2009).
Treatment and health maintenance among people
with DM have absorbed huge amounts of money
each year. With a growing number of patent
medicines for people with diabetes, medical
treatment costs become even more expensive and
not affordable, especially for people in the
developing
countries
such
as
Indonesia
(Widyaningrum, 2008). Currently more than 400
traditional medicinal plants have been reported to
be used for complementary and alternative
medicines for diabetes treatment, although only
few traditional medicinal plants have been
investigated scientifically (Widyaningrum, 2008).

Traditional medicines are generally made from

natural materials of medicinal plants such as roots,
tubers, rhizomes, wood, bark, seeds, leaves, fruits
or sap of medicinal plant extracts. In Indonesia,
there are some traditional medicinal plants that can
be used to treat diabetes mellitus. They include
sambiloto (Andrographis paniculata Nees.) and
mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni Jacq.). Both plants
are already widely used empirically for traditional
treatment of diabetes in some countries such as
China, India, and Indonesia. Both plants are
scientifically proven to be capable of lowering
blood sugar levels significantly in streptozotocininduced diabetic animals (Debasis et al., 20 11;
Hossain et al., 200 7). This study wanted to see the
activity of sambiloto herbs and mahogany seeds
combination
in
producing
more
potent
hypoglycemic effects.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Animals. Male mice of age 8 weeks and body
weights ranging from 20-40 g were obtained from
Animal Laboratory, Department of Pharmacognosy
and Phytocemistry, Airlangga University.
Chemicals. Alloxan monohydrate (Sigma
Aldrich Chemical Co., US), Glibenclamide

E-Journal Planta Husada Vol.1 Oktober 2013

(Kimia Farma), CMC-Sodium, Ethanol 96%,

Glucometer (EasyTouch GCU Meter) and Blood
Gluco-strip (EasyTouch GCU Meter).
Plant material. The herbs of Andrographis
paniculata Nees. and seeds of Swietenia mahagoni
Jacq. were collected and identified by Purwodadi
Botanical Garden, Pasuruan, Indonesia.
Preparation of extract. The herbs of
Andrographis paniculata Nees. and Swietenia
mahagoni Jacq. were extracted with ethanol 96%
by maceration process and evaporated to dryness. The
extracts were mixed in three rations (1:1); (1:2) and
(2:1). The combination of extract was formulated into
suspension form by using 0.5% CMC-Sodium.
Experimental induction of diabetes. The mice
were injected with alloxan monohydrate (Sigma
Aldrich Chemical Co., US) dissolved in sterile normal
saline at a dose of 150 mg/kg body wt intraperitoneally.
Before the injection, all mice were fasted for 18 hours.
After three days, mice with blood glucose above 200
mg/dl were used for the experiment.
Experimental design. The mice were divided into
eight groups after the induction of alloxan diabetes.,
Normal Control Group. Non-Diabetic mice., Negative
Control Group. Diabetic mice given with CMCSodium 0.5%., Positive Control Group. Diabetic mice
given with glibenclamide orally (0.013 mg/20g bw).,
Group 1. Diabetic mice given with 96% ethanolic
extract herbs of Andrographis paniculata Nees. (28
mg/20g bw)., Group 2. Diabetic mice given with 96%
ethanolic extract seeds of S. mahagoni Jacq. (28
mg/20g bw)., Group 3. Diabetic mice given with 96%
ethanolic extract of A. paniculata Nees. and S.
mahagoni Jacq. combination with ratio 1:1 (28 mg/20 g
bw)., Group 4. Diabetic mice given with 96% ethanolic
extract of A. paniculata Nees. and S. mahagoni Jacq.
combination with ratio 1:2 (28 mg/20 g body weight).,
Group 5. Diabetic mice given with 96% ethanolic
extract of A. paniculata Nees. and S. mahagoni Jacq.
combination with ratio 2:1 (28 mg/20g body weight).,
The blood samples were collected through the tail vein
puncturing with a needle.
Statistical analysis. All data were expressed as
mean SEM. Differences in the means between the
groups were statistically analyzed by one way
ANOVA followed by Tukeys test for post hoc
analysis with p<0.05 was considered significant.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Results of the observation and treatment given
to the experimental animals of mice for seven days
showed profiles of the mice blood glucose levels
due to the influence of the extract tested. The data
were displayed in the form of means SEM.
Evaluation of blood glucose levels in mice was
performed on days 1, 3, 5 and 7 during treatment.
The reduction in blood glucose levels in this study
was calculated using formula of the blood glucose
level on day 0 minus the blood glucose levels on
day 7. Data obtained were then analyzed

Sukardiman et al.

statistically using SPSS program with Tukey

method. From the statistical analysis, only
mahogany extract group did not give significant
differences compared with the negative control
group. Sambiloto extract and mahogany extract
mixtures with ratio (2:1) provided the largest
reduction in blood glucose levels with average
reduction in blood glucose levels at 250.80 mg/dL.
The sambiloto extract produced lower average
reduction in blood glucose levels at 232.00 mg/dL.
The sambiloto and mahogany extract mixtures
produced a reduction in blood glucose levels at
213.60 mg/dL in ratio (1:1) and 237.60 mg/dL in
ratio (1:2). In addition, the mahogany seed extract
produced the lowest reduction in blood glucose
levels at 28.00 mg/dL.

The largest hypoglycemic activities in this

study occurred in the administration of 96%
ethanol extracts of sambiloto herbs and mahogany
seeds combination with ratio of (2:1). Within seven
days, the mixture of both 96% ethanol extracts was
capable of lowering blood glucose levels of mice
on average of 250.80 mg/dL. A compound thought
to have hypoglycemic activity of sambiloto
(Andrographis paniculata Nees.) is diterpene
lactone named andrographolide, which is also the
main chemical constituent of sambiloto plants.
Andrographolide
compound
produced
hypoglycemic effects by inhibiting the glucosidase and -amylase enzymes thereby

Hypoglycemic Activity of 96% Ethanolic Extract

metabolism of disaccharides was inhibited

significantly, but glucose metabolism increased.
This causes blood glucose levels to decrease.
While compound thought to generate dominant
hypoglycemic activity in mahogany plants
(Swietenia mahagoni Jacq.) is swietenin. Swietenin
refers to a class of tetranortriterpenoid compound
representing natural agonist PPAR (Peroxisome
Proliferator Activated Receptor) with an action
mechanism of activating the gen-responsive insulin
which can stimulate insulin to form and translocate
GLUT (glucose-transporter) to the cell membrane
in peripheral organs so that the absorption and the
use of peripheral glucose increased (Li et al, 2005;
Hasan et al., 2011). Another function of this
PPAR activation is enhancing the metabolism of
carbohydrates and fats and improving insulin
sensitivity (Li et al., 2005).
From such description it can be seen that the
hypoglycemic effects due to the administration of a
mixture of 96% ethanol extracts of A. paniculata
Nees. herbs and S. mahagoni Jacq. seeds are
greater when compared with their single extract.
This is likely due to differences in the action
mechanism of each compound contained in
sambiloto plants (andrographolide) and mahogany
(swietenin) which can cause synergistic effects on
the body in generating hypoglycemic effects.
Conclusion
The combination of 96% ethanol extracts of
sambiloto herbs and mahogany seeds at dose of 28
mg/20g for seven days generated greater
hypoglycemic
activity
compared
with
administration of 96% ethanol extract of both
plants in singly manner. Mixture of 96% ethanol
extract producing greatest hypoglycemic effect is
administered at the ratio of (2:1).
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