Antidiabetic Potential of Loranthus longiflorus Desr. from Azadirachta indica and Albizzia lebbeck Host Trees: A Cultural Parasitic Medicinal Plant from the Jammu Foothills of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan

The present study elucidates antidiabetic potential of Loranthus longiflorus in an alloxan-induced rabbit model, taken from Azadirachta indica and Albizzia lebbeck trees, which serve as hosts for this parasitic woody shrub. Phytochemical screening suggested the presence of alkaloids, saponins, and flavonoids as major secondary metabolites. The methanolic leaf and bark extracts of the plants were administered as oral dosage treatments to the rabbits for 7, 15, and 30 days. The blood sugar levels of the rabbits from the four groups (i.e., the normal control group (NCG), the diabetic control group (DCG), the treatment control group (TCG) with a standard allopathic drug, and the trial group (TG). It was found that a 1000 mg dose of methanolic extract from the leaf of L. longiflorus from the host A. lebbeck had the best antidiabetic activity. It acts to lower blood glucose levels and body weight in rabbits, while simultaneously elevating serum insulin.