Hypoglycemic Evaluation, Isolation and Characterization of Four Major Compounds from the Ethanolic Extract of Crataeva religiosa Hook Leaves

Crateva religiosa, belonging to the Capparaceae family, is a medicinal plant with a history of treating numerous diseases. Silica gel column chromatography of aqueous ethanol extract of the plant afforded three cinnamic acid derivatives viz. p-methoxy cinnamic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid and a flavonoid glycoside; quercetin 3-O-β-glucopyranoside and characterized by analyzing different spectroscopic data (UV, IR, 1D/2D NMR) and comparing with the previously reported data. Among the isolated compounds, p-methoxy cinnamic acid and p-coumaric acid were new findings from this leaves extract. An aqueous 80% ethanol extract of the leaves was tested for hypoglycemic studies for the first time on streptozotocin-induced Type-2 diabetic rats. Fasting serum glucose level significantly decreased after 21 days of chronic feeding of the extract. This extract did not change the body weight of the rats. Glibenclamide, as a standard drug showed a similar hypoglycemic effect to the aqueous ethanol extract of C. religiosa leaves. Fasting serum insulin increased in both C. religiosa and glibenclamide treated groups, but the difference with control remained just outside the significance level. Liver glycogen content increased significantly and serum cholesterol level decreased by 24.14% in the C. religiosa treated group. This study establishes the therapeutic potentiality of C. religiosa.