Application of modified in vitro screening procedure for identifying herbals possessing sulfonylurea-like activity.

We describe here the application of a modified in vitro procedure for identifying herbs potentially possessing sulfonylurea-like activity. The procedure consists of the combination of an SUR1 receptor binding assay and an insulin secretion assay in cultures of HIT-T15 cells. This procedure could be used as an initial step in identifying new safe and efficacious agents for the management of Type II diabetes. The application of this screening procedure to a set of selected herbs produced results that were consistent with the previously reported properties of those herbs. The collected data suggest that the hypoglycemic properties of bitter melon (Momordica charantia, Linn. Family, Cucurbitacea), cerasse (Momordica charantia, Linn. wild variety, Family, Cucurbitacea) and American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius, Linn., Family Araliacea) are at least partially due to their sulfonylurea-like activity.