EVALUATION OF ANTIDIABETIC ACTIVITY OF PICRORHIZA KURROA ROYLE EX. BENTH. – IN-VITRO AND IN-VIVO

During the past few years, diabetes has been one of the leading metabolic disorders. It occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin or the body cells are not efficient enough to take up the insulin. This increases blood glucose levels that affect the body system, particularly blood vessels and nerves. Due to the side effects of allopathic medicines, individuals are searching the other alternatives with lesser side effects and more efficacy. Such properties are present in plant-based product. Picrorhiza kurroa Royle ex. Benth. belonging to the family Plantaginaceae/Scrophulariaceae distributed in Himalayan regions of China, Pakistan, India, Bhutan and Nepal. The tribes of North–Eastern Himalayan regions of India use this herb as for controlling diabetes. The present study was conducted to evaluate the antidiabetic activity of ethanolic extract of P. kurroa in-vitro and in-vivo. In-vitro antidiabetic activity was done by inhibiting the alpha-amylase enzyme, which is hydrolyzing enzyme for the starch by plant extract. In-vivo antidiabetic activity was done by injecting alloxan monohydrate (120 mg/kg bw) to male Wistar rats and which were given plant extract (60 mg/kg bw) orally for 14 consecutive days. The treatment shows a significant reduction in blood glucose levels and also in lipid profile levels. The IC₅₀ value for plant extract was reported to be 73.52 µg/ml, and for positive control, it was 184.54µg/ml. The results showed that plant extract of P. kurroa shows promising results in-vitro and in-vivo for the treatment of diabetes.