In vitro antidiabetic activity of leaves and seeds of Boerhavia diffusa

Abstract

Boerhavia diffusa (Punarnava) is one of the famous medicinal plant used in the treatment of a large number of human ailments as mentioned in Ayurveda, Charaka Samhita, and Sushrita Samhita. The whole plant or its parts are known to have medicinal properties and have a long history of use by Indians particularly the tribal people. The present work was carried out to evaluate the inhibitory activity of different extracts of Boerhavia diffusa on α-amylase, α-glucosidase and yeast cells at varying concentrations. From the results, it is clear that ethanol extracts of both the leaves and seeds of Boerhavia diffusa shows strong inhibitory activity against α-amylase and α-glucosidase. The results obtained from the present study indicates that Boerhavia diffusa can be used as a better therapeutic agent for free radical related disorders.