Exploration of antioxidant, antidiabetic and hepatoprotective activity of Diplazium esculentum - A wild edible plant from North Eastern India

Objective The present work is undertaken for phytochemical and pharmacological investigation of Diplazium esculentum leaf's hydroalcoholic extract (DEHAe). Methods Antioxidant activity was estimated by DPPH assay and nitric oxide (NO) inhibition was determined using Griess reagent. Diabetes was induced artificially by streptozotocin (STZ). DEHAe was administered orally to see its affect on fasting glucose level, lipid profile, biochemical parameters and antioxidant enzyme activity. Hepatoprotective activity was examined by carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4 ) induced hepatic injury method. Histological slides of pancreas were prepared to observe the histological changes. Results The experiments yielded expected activity of the plant extract in animal model. IC 50 value of DEHAe for in vitro antioxidant activity and NO inhibition activity was found to be 138.8 and 151.9 μg/mL respectively. Fasting blood glucose level was reduced 50.2% by DEHAe (500 mg/kg) in STZ induced diabetic rats. Significant normalization ( p < 0.01 and p < 0.05) of the lipid profile and serum marker enzymes were observed in the diabetic rats treated with DEHAe. Sufficient normalization of antioxidant enzyme activity was observed by DEHAe administration. CCl 4 had a little impact on the liver enzyme activity and total biluribin on the rats pre-treated with DEHAe. Pancreas of DEHAe treated animals showed a significant reduction of necrosis and regeneration of β-cells. Conclusion The present experiment shows that DEHAe has significant activity on free radical scavenging, antidiabetic , hyperlipidimic and hepatoprotective activity and thus can be consumed as a functional vegetable.