Elsevier

Journal of Ethnopharmacology

Volume 137, Issue 1, 1 September 2011, Pages 643-651
Journal of Ethnopharmacology

Effects of Portulaca oleracea L. seeds in treatment of type-2 diabetes mellitus patients as adjunctive and alternative therapy

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2011.06.020Get rights and content

Abstract

Ethnpharmacological relevance: To investigate antidiabetic activity of purslane seeds on type-2 diabetic subjects and to provide scientific basis for the clinical use of Portulaca oleracea (PO).

Materials and methods

A thirty subject with type-2 diabetes divided into two groups, to receive 5 g of PO seeds twice daily while in the second group, their participants receive 1500 mg of metformin/day. All participants were requested to report the effects of treatments on diabetic manifestations, their weights, body mass index (BMI), adverse effects, fasting and post-prandial blood glucose during treatment schedule. Blood samples from participants before and after treatment were taken for serum separation, which are used for measurement of serum lipids, liver enzymes, total and direct bilirubin, albumin, and insulin.

Results

It showed a significant decrease in serum levels of triglycerides (TGs), total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC), liver alanine-, aspartate- and gamma glutamyl transaminase (ALT, AST, and GGT), total and direct bilirubin, fasting and post-prandial blood glucose, insulin, body weight and BMI while a significant increase in high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) and albumin but non-significant change of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in PO seeds treated subjects. Metformin (M) group has the same results of PO group except in high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC), LDLC, and ALP levels had a different pattern.

Conclusions

PO seeds could be effective and safe as adjuvant therapy for Type-2 diabetic subjects. These results demonstrated that PO seeds possessed notable hypoglycaemic, hypolipidaemic and insulin resistance reducer effects; possibly due to its contents of polyunsaturated fatty acids, flavonoids, and polysaccharides.

Graphical abstract

The present study was to investigate antidiabetic activity of purslane seeds on type-2 diabetic subjects and to provide scientific basis for the clinical use of Portulaca oleracea (PO). Purslane seeds were effective and safe as adjuvant or as favourable alternative therapy for type-2 diabetic subjects.

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Introduction

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia, abnormal lipid and protein metabolism along with specific long-term complications affecting the retina, kidney, liver and nervous system (David et al., 1997). Synthetic hypoglycaemic agents can produce serious side effects and in addition, they are not suitable for use during pregnancy. For a long time, diabetics have been treated with several medicinal plants or their extracts based on the folklore medicine (Akhtar and Ali, 1984). Therefore, the search for more effective and safer hypoglycaemic agents or even adjunctive therapy has continued to be an important area of active research. Portulaca oleracea L. grows widely in different areas of the world including middle and southern area of Yemen. The plant has been reported official in the French, Mexican, Spanish and Venezuelan Pharmacopoeias (Eduardo Quisumbing, 1978).

Aqueous extract of P. oleracea does not have any cytotoxicity or genotoxicity effect and it is safe for daily use (Yen et al., 2001). It has been verified the folk use of P. oleracea in Iran for abnormal uterine bleeding, subjects were given 5 g of purslane seeds powder in a glass of water every 4 h orally, 48 h after the onset of menstruation for 3 days without any side effects (Shobeiri et al., 2009). Moreover, the seeds and leaves of purslane have several therapeutic applications as diuretic, antiscorbutic, antipyretic, antiasthma, antiinflammatory and antitussive uses (Daniel, 2006). Many studies have demonstrated various pharmacological effects of this plant including hypoglycaemic (Cui et al., 2005), hypocholesterolemic (Movahedian et al., 2007), and antioxidant (Lim and Quah, 2007) effects.

The purslane contains many compounds, including alkaloids, omega-3 fatty acids, coumarins, flavonoids, polysaccharide, cardiac glycosides, and anthraquinone glycosides (Mohamed and Hussein, 1994). The seeds of purslane are more effective than the herb and are of good use (Culpeper, 1995). In addition, seeds contain a fixed oil of about 17.4% concentration and containing β-sitosterol (Burkill, 1997).The anti-diabetic activity of P. oleracea L. has been argued in China. The polysaccharide from P. oleracea L. (POP) is used in treatment of type 2 diabetic mice resulting in a significant decrease in the concentration of fasting blood glucose (FBG), total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TGs) in diabetic mice (Nadkarni and Nadkarni, 1999). Depending on the mentioned literature, the aim of the study is to ensure both antidiabetic activity of purslane seeds on type-2 diabetic subjects and its alleviating effects on diabetic complications such as hyperlipidaemia and liver disorders taking into consideration that an herb and its seeds used as a kind of food and medicinal plant for thousands of years in China due to its safety and its contents of abundant nutritional proteins, carbohydrates, Ca2+, K+, Zn+, and Na+ (Aberoumand, 2009).

Section snippets

Materials

Purslane was collected from the lands in the Taiz province of Yemen in September 2009 and its identity was authenticated by a Pharmacognosist (Dr. A. Al-Shaibani). A voucher specimen of the plant (number 11/2009) has been deposited in the Central Herbarium of Medicinal Plants affiliated with pharmacognosy department in faculty of pharmacy, Sana’a University, Sana, Yemen. The seeds were separated from the plant, washed and dried in shade at room temperature. The dry seeds were ground into powder

Results

Data of present study are illustrated in Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, Table 4, Table 5, Table 6a, Table 6b, Table 7, Table 8 and Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 4, Fig. 5, Fig. 6, Fig. 7. Diabetes mellitus is usually complicated with hyperlipoproteinemia.

Phytochemical study and metabolites content: the phytochemical study of purslane showed the presence of various quantities of total polyphenolic compounds, tannins and particularly flavonoids. The metabolites contents and variety of the tested

Discussion

The results showed that in addition to hyperglycemia and insulin resistance, type-2 DM characterized by increased obesity, hyperinsulinemia, lipid metabolic disorder and liver dysfunction had been developed in all subjects of two studied groups before treatment. It was demonstrated herein that treatment with PO seeds could improve the impaired glucose tolerance, lipid metabolic disorders and liver functions, attenuate hyperinsulinemia, elevate insulin sensitivity and reduce both body weight and

Acknowledgment

The author would like to thank and appreciate Al-Thawra hospital medical staff and in particular the staff of endocrine glands department and diabetes center, Sana, Yemen, for their help in diagnosis, picking up, and follow up of NIDDM subjects involved in this study. In addition, the author thanks Dr. A. Al-Shaibani (Associate professor of pharmacognosy, Sana’a University) for her help in making preliminary phytochemical analysis. This work was supported by the Pharmacy College Foundation in

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