Procena biološke aktivnosti biljne mešavine koja se primenjuje u etnofarmakološkom tretmanu dijabetesa

Abstract

Diabetes is one of the most prevalent diseases of the 21st century. Conventional pharmacotherapy of diabetes successfully regulates hyperglycemia, yet it cannot completely prevent the progress of secondary diabetic pathologies. Thus, many people combine pharmacotherapy with herbal remedies. This study aimed to evaluate the frequency of traditional medicine use in Serbia and to examine the biological activities of the “anti-diabetic” herbal mixture used in the ethnopharmacology. The prevalence of traditional medicine use was assessed by cross-sectional study, while the biological activities of the herbal mixture were examined through in vitro and in vivo experiments. The results of the study showed that 67.7% of respondents from all over Serbia rely on ethnopharmacology. The consumption of polyherbal mixtures and pharmaceutical supplements based on traditional recipes was more frequent than individual medicinal herbs. Phytochemical analysis of tested herbal mixture indicated high content of phenols and flavonoids. The HPLC-UV analysis revealed the presence of ten bioactive compounds: quinic, gallic and caftaric acid, arbutin, rutin, trifolin, astragalin, hyperoside, isoquercetin and quercitrin. In vitro study indicated its high antioxidant, anticytotoxic and antigenotoxic activities as well as antimicrobial activity against a wide range of microorganisms. In addition, its cytotoxicity and genotoxicity were extremely low. In vivo study showed that this herbal mixture has hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic and hepatoprotective effects in both healthy and diabetic animals. Moreover, in diabetic animals, it showed nephroprotective activity, while its hypoglycemic effect was higher than the effect of insulin and metformin in this experimental model.