In Vitro investigating the antidiabetic activity of Rumex abyssinica, Hibiscus sabdariffa, and Cinnamomum zeylanicum

Background: Diabetes is a metabolic disorder symptomized by high blood glucose level.The treatment is associated with adverse side-effects regarding health and economic burdens of the diseased. The difficulty in insulin injection, the non-compliance, prolonged treatment, makes to the diabetic patients to have a poor controlled blood glucose level particularly in resource limited settings. As alternative, people are using medicinal plants as they are cheap, readily available, and lesser side effects. Even though the need for herbal medicine are culturally and socially accepted but the toxicity ,active principles, and mechanism of action are generally not known well so this study aims to investigate in vitro potential effects of Rumex abyssinica, Hibiscus sabdariffa, and Cinnamomum zeylanicum in glucose regulation. Methodology: Different parts from the 3 plants were subjected to hot Soxhlet extraction using solvents with different polarity. The in vitro anti-diabetic activity of the extracts was investigated by measuring their effect on assays of α-amylase inhibition and glucose transport across yeast cells. Result: The result of α-amylase inhibition reveled highest, significant (p0.001) from aqueous extracts (0.5 mg/ml) of Hibiscus sabdariffa and Rumex abyssinica by 85.11%, and 77.91% respectively.Though chloroform extract of Cinnamomum zeylanicum was not significant exhibited 92.49% α-amylase inhibition at 0.5 mg/ml. In the glucose transport assay, the aqueous extract (0.5 mg/ml) of Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Hibiscus sabdariffa, and Rumex abyssinica increased glucose transport across yeast cells by 52.44%, 52.16%, and 50.57% respectively, at 25mM glucose concentration. Conclusion: All the three selected medicinal plants were found to have an effective inhibition of α-amylase and glucose absorption by the aqueous extract. This shows that the plants extract contains an active water-soluble ingredients which may have anti-diabetic activity in vivo when taken in the form of tea. Therfore, we kindly recommend that , a further invivo, toxicological, phytochemical, and molecular analysis of these plants to be conducted in case control stdudies as it has been used as tea in the community.