Phytochemical and hypoglycemic screening of Heritiera fomes

Abstract

Phytotherapy in curing various health complications has shown major prospects in recent times. Therefore, people living in rural areas highly depend on phytotherapy as a potential treatment option for numerous diseases. This study focuses on the phytochemical screening and the assessment of hypoglycemic effect of different parts (root, leaves, and bark) of the ethanol extract of Heritiera fomes. The phytochemical screening confirmed the presence of alkaloid, carbohydrate, tannins, flavonoid, saponin, glycoside, steroid, phenol and resin. The therapeutic efficacy was determined by assessing the hypoglycemic effect of this plant extracts in doses of 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg body weight by alloxan induced diabetic mice in comparison with the standard drug Metformin hydrochloride of 150mg/kg. The experimental Swiss albino mice were divided into eight different groups. Significant reduction in glucose level was observed in the diabetic mice after treating with EHB, EHR & EHL (Ethanol extracts of bark, root and leaves of H.fomes). Results have shown that H.fomes can be considered as potential hypoglycemic agent and can be utilized in minimizing associated health complications upon further research.