Hypoglycemic potential of Verbesina encelioides Benth. roots.

Medical plants play an important role in the management of diabetes mellitus especially in developing countries where resources are meager. Plant-based drugs have been used against various diseases since a long time. The nature has provided abundant plant wealth for all the living creatures, which possess medicinal virtues. Therefore, there is a necessity to explore their uses and to conduct pharmacognostic and pharmacological studies to ascertain their therapeutic properties. In fact, nowadays, diabetes is a global problem. Hence, the present study aims to open new avenues for the improvement of medicinal uses of Verbesina encelioides Benth. roots for the selected area for diabetes.. Dried aqueous and alcoholic extracts were subjected for hypoglycaemic activity in swiss albino mice (30-40g). Blood sugar level was determined using digital glucometer. The oral administration of roots extracts at doses of 400 mg/ kg lead to a significant blood glucose reduction in normal and in Streptozotocin, alloxan diabetic mices significantly within 4h. Continued, daily administration of the drug produced a sustained effect. Keywords: Verbesina encelioides , alloxan-induced diabetes, streptozotocin-induced diabetes, Hypoglycaemic activity.