Abstract
Objectives: Diabetes mellitus is a multifactorial chronic disease that affects the human population and it is the third most common cause of death worldwide.
Momordica charantia
is used as popular folk medicine and its action against diabetes mellitus remains unclear. We investigated the inhibitory potentials of α-glucosidase, acetylcholinesterase, and biochemical profiling of
M. charantia
in alloxan-induced diabetic rat models. Methods: An
In vivo
study was carried out by using twenty male albino Wistar rats randomly divided into five groups each comprising four rats. Diabetes mellitus was induced by single intraperitoneal administration of 80 mg/kg body weight of alloxan and treatment with plant extract was conducted for a period of thirty days to check their impact on body weight and differentblood values. Biochemical profiling and characterization were performed by
in vitro
assays and HPLC, and FTIR. Histopathologic effects of
M. charantia
were examined through automated image analysis. Results were analyzed through Tukey’s test, a complete randomized design and two factorial designs under CRD. Results: Methanolic extract demonstrated potent alpha-glucosidase (72.30 ± 1.17%) and acetylcholinesterase (50.12 ± 0.82%) inhibitory activities. HPLC analysis confirmed the existence of vital flavonoids, antioxidants, and saponins. FTIR revealed the presence of hydroxyl groups, esters, alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, ketones, alcohols, amines and carboxylic acids as major functional groups. Results of
in vivo
study demonstrated that co-administration of alloxan and methanolic extract of
M. charantia
significantly improved the levels of fasting blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin and insulin in diabetic rats. Conclusion:
M. charantia
can be recommended as a therapeutic adjunct for diabetic patients as it can provide favorable remedial action in the context of the diabetes continuum of metabolic syndrome.