ABSTRACT:
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease with the highest rates of prevalence and mortality worldwide. Chloroxylon swietenia has been used widely in folkloric medicine. Plants contain various phytoconstituents that are toxic. So it is essential to carry out phytochemical screening and toxicity studies of the medicinal plant. Both aqueous and ethanolic leaf extracts of Chloroxylon swietenia (CSAE and CSEE) were subjected to preliminary phytochemical tests for its presence or absence of phytoconstituents like alkaloids, carbohydrates, steroids, etc. Twenty-five albino female rats (N=5, 150-200 g), overnight fasted were divided into five groups, and an acute toxicity study was performed according to OECD: Guidelines 420. Sixty albino rats of either sex were randomly divided into ten groups (n=6), i.e. standard control, diabetic control, 100, 200, 400 and 800 mg/kg of aqueous and ethanolic extract treated groups. Aqueous and ethanol extracts were dissolved in water and tween 80 respectively and given orally 14 days. Blood was collected on the 1st day and 14th day for the estimation of blood glucose. Data were analyzed by ANOVA followed by Dunnet test. Significance level was considered as 5% (p = 0.05). The result reveals the presence of alkaloids, steroid, carbohydrate, flavonoid, quinone, phenol and coumarin in the ethanol extract and carbohydrate, flavonoid in the aqueous extract. Both the extract has not shown any significant toxicity. Mortality was not observed in all the groups. Motor activity and general behavior appear normal. Body weight remains same in all the experimental groups. All the dose of CSAE and CSEE exhibited the anti-diabetic activity.