Hypoglycemic activity of Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels seed extracts: an approach to in vitro, in vivo, and in silico studies.

This research is carried out to explore the hypoglycemic activity of Syzygium cumini seed extracts by in vitro, in vivo, and in silico methods. For in vitro studies the α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzyme inhibition assays were employed. For in vivo studies 30 alloxan induced Wistar rats were used. They were orally administered with glibenclamide and low/high dose of the extracts and were monitored regularly for the change in blood glucose levels for about 28 days. The in silico molecular docking was conducted to evaluate the binding interaction of 1,2,3-Benzenetriol with human pancreatic α-amylase and α-glucosidase. It was found that all the extracts were able to inhibit the α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes. Among which the acetone extract showed greater inhibition with 72.52 ± 0.51% and 63.02 ± 0.73% for both the enzymes, respectively. There was significant (p < 0.05) reduction in blood glucose levels in the rats administered with glibenclamide and extracts. In silico docking results revealed that the compound 1,2,3-Benzenetriol exhibited the highest binding affinity for human pancreatic α-amylase with binding energy -7.7 kcal/mol. Thus suggesting the utilization of S. cumini seeds in the management of diabetes mellitus.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Challenges of diabetes in elderly TB patients.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) and tuberculosis (TB) are worldwide health burdens post-COVID-19. TB is the second-leading cause of death by a single infectious microbe. There is much evidence around the world about the responsibility of TB-DM co-morbidity. Both TB and DM prevalence is high in low- and middle-income countries. Especially the elderly with diabetes are more prone to TB infection due to compromised immune systems. Diabetic patients are three times as likely to develop tuberculosis as non-diabetic patients. DM interferes with the status of TB and leads to undesirable outcomes in the treatment of TB. This may later lead to the development of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). The coexistence of TB and DM leads to a high mortality rate and therefore becomes an enormous challenge for the medical field. This viewpoint includes the most current information about TB and DM, disease complications, treatment strategies, challenges to be faced in disease management and the importance of TB-DM bidirectional screening in older adults, which helps in early detection and better treatment programme.