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.
Division of Toxicology, Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, India.
A M
AM
Saxena
M B
MB
Bajpai
P S
PS
Murthy
S K
SK
Mukherjee
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