Publication: Diabetes Research Vol.2, pp.81-84, 1985 (1979) Herbal drugs in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Interval. Diabetes Fed. Bull., 24(3), 10-17. …
Cerasee, A Traditional Treatment for Diabetes Studies in Normal and
Streptozotocin Diabetic Mice
Author: Clifford J Bailey, Caroline Day, Susan L Turner, brian A
Leatherdale
Type of Publication: Pre-Clinical
Date of Publication: 1985
Publication: Diabetes Research Vol2, pp81-84, 1985
Organization: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Aston and
department of Diabetes and Endocrinolgy
Abstract: Cerasee, a wild variety of Momordica charantia is traditionally
prepared as a tea for the treatment of diabetes mellitus in the West Indies
and Central America To investigate a possible hypoglycaemic effect
concentrated aqueous extracts of cerasee were administered to normal and
streptozotocin diabetic mice In normal mice intraperitoneal adminstration
of cerasee improved glucose tolerance after 8 hour and in streptozotocin
diabetic mice the level of hyperglycaemia eas reduced by 50 after 5 hour
Chronic oral administration of cerasee to normal mice for 13 days improved
glucose tolerance The cerasee extracts did not significantly alter plasma
insulin concentrations suggesting that cerasee may exert an extrapancreatic
effect to promote glucose
disposal
INTRODUCTION
Cerasee is the common name for a wild variety of Momordica
charantia found in the West Indies and Central America A decoction termed
cerasee tea is prepared locally by boiling the aerial parts of the plant in
water The plant debris is separated and the tea is diluted to taste
consumed hot or cold Cerasee tea is traditionally imbibed in small
quantities by healthy individual as a prophylactic It is ascribed blood-
cleansing properties and is used in larger doses to treat various
ailments, particularly was brought to our attention by West Indian patients
with non-insulin dependent diabetes who use cerasee in Britain as their
therapy or as a supplement to conventional treatments
To investigate a possible hypoglycaemic effect concentrated
aqueous and streptozotocin diabetic mice
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Animals
Adult male Theiller Original mice Bantin and Kingman, Hull,
UK were housed in an air-conditioned room at 22 20C and supplied a
standard pellet diet, mouse breeding diet, Heygate and Sons, North ampton,
UK and tapwater ad lib
Cerasee Extract
Dried cerasee was important from Trinidad and its identity
verified by the Royal Botanic gardens, Kew, UK In accordance with the
traditional preparation as a decoction stalks leaves fruits of cerasee were
boiled in water for 1 hour and plant debris was separated by filtration
through muslin gauze The concentration of the aqueous extract was adjusted
by addition of water Concentration was expressed in relation to the weight
of dried cerasee: eg 1 ml of extract prepared from 10 g of dried cerasee
was termed a x 10 concentration Extracts were prepared freshly for acute
studies and on alternate days during the chronic study
Acute Study in Normal Mice
03 ml of an aqueous extract of cerasee x 15 concentration
or 03 ml of water was injected intraperitoneally to non-fasted mice Blood
samples 50 l for plasma glucose and insulin analysis were taken from the
tail tip immediately before, and at 2,4 and 8 hour after the injection A
glucose tolerance test was then performedGlucose 2 g/kg in a 40
solution was injected intraperitoneally following the 8 hour sample and
further samples were taken at 8 and 9 hour Food, but not
water was
withheld throughout
Chronic Study in Normal Mice
An aqueous extract of cerasee x 02 concentration was
administered as a substitute for the drinking water The concentration was
elected after preliminary studies showed this to be maximum concentration
that the mice would comsume in the same volume as tapwater Control mice
received tapwater as usual Body weight, food intake, fluid intake, plasma
glucose and plasma insulin were monitored before and after 4,8 and 12 days
of treatment A glucose tolerance test was immediately before and at 30
and 60 min after an intraperitoneal injection of glucose 2g/kg
Acute Study in Streptozotocin Diabetic Mice
Streptozotocin Sigma Chemicals, Poole, UK was administered
bu an intraperitoneally injection 100 mg/kg in citrate buffer pH 48 4
weeks prior to experimentation 05 ml of an aqueous of cerasee x 10
concentration 05 ml of water was injected intraperitoneally to non-fasted
mice Blood samples 20 l for plasma glucose analysis were taken
immediately before and at 13 and 5 hour after injection, while food but
not water withheld
Analyses
Plasma glucose was measured by an automated glucose oxidase
procedure 1 and muslin was determined by double antibody radio-
immunoassay using mouse insulin standard 2
RESULTS
Acute Study in Normal Mice
Intraperitoneally administration of an aqueous extract of
cerasee reduced basal plasma glucose concentration in normal mice after 4
and 8 hour Table 1 Glucose tolerance was also improved 8 hour after
cerasee administration The increments in plasma glucose concentration
during the glucose tolerance tests calculated as the sum of the values at
81/2 and 9 hour minus twice the value at 8 hour were 10 6 08 and 79
09 mean SEM mmo/l p, 005 in mice receiving water and cerasee
extract respectively Plasma insulin concentration were not significantly
altered by the cerasee extract
Chronic Study in Normal Mice
Oral administration of an aqueous extract of cerasee as a
substitute for drinking water in normal mice for 12 days did not
significantly alter body weight food intake, fluid intake or plasma
concentration of glucose and insulin Table 2 However glucose tolerance
measured on day
13, was improved by the cerasee treatment Table 3 The
increments in plasma glucose concentrations during the tests were 91 06
and 68 07 mml/l p 005 in control and cerasee treated mice
respectively Plasma insulin concentrations during the glucose tolerance
tests were not significantly different in the 2 groups of mice Table 3
Acute Study in Streptozotocin Diabetic Mice
Intraperitoneal administration of an aqueous extract of
cerasee to streptozotocin diabetic mice reduced the plasma glucose
concentration by about 50 after 5 hour Table 4
DISCUSSION
Traditional plant remedies have provided modern medicine with
numerous pharmaceutical preparations There have been many anecdotal
accounts of traditional plant treatments for diabetes mellitus 3 and
these have yet to receive thorough scientific scrutiny 4 Momordica
charantia is of particular interest due to its widespread adoption as an
anti-diabetic treatment In addition to this application of cerasee in the
Americas, the fruits of other varieties of this plant termed karela bitter
gourd or balsam pear are used to treat the symptoms of
diabetes mellitus
in African and Asian societies Recently, karela has been shown to improve
glycaemic control in non-insulin dependent diabetic patients and to reduce
glucose concentrations in normal and diabetic laboratory animals 5,9
In the pesent study, highly concentrated aqueous extracts of
cerasee reduced basal glucose concentrations when administered by
intraperitoneal injection to both normal and streptozotocin diabetic mice
Cerasee has a bitter taste and the maximum concentration which mice would
drink in normal amounts did not significantly alter basal glucose
concentrations, although glucose tolerance was improved The hypoglycaemic
action of cerasee like that of karela was not associated with increased
circulating insulin This suggests that cerasee may exert an
extrapancreatic effect on glucose disposal Cerasee deserves further
consideration as a possible adjunct to conventional anti-diabetic
treatments
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We are grateful to Laura Ponsonby of the Royal Botanic
gardens, Kew, for her assistance
REFERENCES
1 Stevens, J F 1971
Determination of glucose by an automatic
analyzer Clinical Acta 32, 199-201
2 Bailey , C J and Ahmed-Sorour, H 1980 Role of ovarian hormones in
the long-term control of glucose homeostasis Effects on insulin
secretion Diabetologia 19, 475-481
3 Algaonkar, S S 1979 Herbal drugs in the treatment of diabetes
mellitus Interval Diabetes Fed Bull, 243, 10-17
Source:charanteausa.com
