Hypoglycaemic effect of mollic acid glucoside, a 1alpha-hydroxycycloartenoid saponin extractive from Combretum molle R. Br. ex G. Don (Combretaceae) leaf, in rodents.

In this study, we investigated the hypoglycaemic and antidiabetic properties of mollic acid glucoside (MAG), a 1alpha-hydroxycycloartenoid extractive from Combretum molle leaf, in rodents. Stepwise, escalated doses of MAG (5-80 mg/kg p.o.) produced dose-dependent and significant (P < 0.05-0.01) hypoglycaemic and antidiabetic effects in normal (normoglycaemic) and streptozotocin-treated diabetic rats. Experimental evidence obtained from this laboratory animal study indicates that MAG, an extractive from C. molle leaf, possesses hypoglycaemic and antidiabetic properties. These findings lend pharmacological credence to the folkloric, ethnomedical uses of the plant's leaf in the management and/or control of diabetes mellitus in some rural communities of southern Africa.