Murraya paniculata (L.) (Orange Jasmine): Potential Nutraceuticals with Ameliorative Effect in Alloxan-Induced Diabetic Rats.

Orange jasmine, Murraya paniculata (Rutaceae), is a plant from India widely used in folk medicine as antinociceptive, antiinflammatory, and antioxidant. Although oral hypoglycemic agents and insulin are the mainstays of treatment of diabetes mellitus (DM), there is a significant demand for new natural products to reduce the development of diabetic complications. Alloxan-induced diabetic rats were treated for 60 days with a hydroalcoholic extract of M. paniculata (MPE), at doses of 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg. MPE decreased glycemia and also cholesterol and triglyceride levels, starting 1 week after treatments, as compared with the same group before treatments. Glucose values were reduced toward normality after 1 week of treatment. MPE hypoglycemic effects were potentiated by glibenclamide and metformin. MPE also decreased fructosamine and glycated hemoglobin values. MPE reduced diabetes-induced morphological alterations of the kidney, pancreas, and liver. MPE acts similarly to glibenclamide and metformin, and its glucose-lowering action is partly a consequence of ATP-sensitive K+ channel inhibition. MPE may be a potential therapeutic alternative for the treatment of diabetes and its complications. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ethnopharmacological study of Stryphnodendron rotundifolium in two communities in the semi-arid region of northeastern Brazil

This work describes the local knowledge of the medicinal use of Stryphnodendron rotundifolium Mart., Fabaceae, according to informants in two areas of the Araripe bioregion, in the Northeast Region of Brazil. We used interviews to investigate the ethnomedicinal use of the local species to determine the mode of use, frequency of administration, duration of treatment and restrictions of use. In traditional medicine, the use of S. rotundifolium is associated with the treatment of inflammatory and infectious diseases. The part of the plant most used was the stem bark (86.11%), the predominant mode of preparation was immersion in water (52.83%), and oral administration was the most cited (48.43%). For inflammatory and infectious diseases, the treatment lasted 3-10 days and the frequency of administration was 2-3 times/day. For gastroprotective effects, treatment lasted up to 30 days, and the herb was administered 1-3 times/day. For pain complaints, the therapy varied from 2-3 days to continuous administration.The informants (46.87%) did not mention restrictions of use, except for pregnant women, with a rate of 25%. A comparison of these results with the ethnopharmacological information from other studies showed that some of the traditional indications are scientifically supported by the literature or clinical studies. Nevertheless, the results showed that pharmacologists have not fully investigated all the possible bioactivities that healers credit to this plant. .