Mechanism of blood sugar lowering by a swerchirin-containing hexane fraction (SWI) of Swertia chirayita.
Mechanism of blood sugar lowering by the crude/impure swerchirin (SWI) isolated from the hexane fraction of Swertia chirayita was investigated. Single oral administration of SWI (50 mg/kg, body wt) to fed CF rats induced about 60% (max.) fall in blood glucose by 7 hr post-treatment. This was associated with marked depletion of aldehyde-fuchsin stained beta-granules and immunostained insulin in the pancreatic islets. In vitro, glucose uptake and glycogen synthesis by muscle (diaphragm) was significantly enhanced by the serum of SWI-treated rat. At 100, 10 and 1 microM final concentration, SWI greatly enhanced glucose (16.7 mM)-stimulated insulin release from isolated islets. It is therefore concluded that SWI lowers blood glucose level by stimulating insulin release from islets of Langerhans.
Saxena
A M
AM
Division of Toxicology, Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, India.
Bajpai
M B
MB
Murthy
P S
PS
Mukherjee
S K
SK
D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D006586:Hexanes; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D051381:Rats; D014966:Xanthenes / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D044004:Xanthones
D001786:Blood Glucose; D006586:Hexanes; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D014966:Xanthenes; D044004:Xanthones; C034385:swerchirin