Some pharmacological properties of an aqueous extract of securinega virosa roots.

An aqueous extract of Securinega virosa is used by traditional healers in Tanga (northeastern Tanzania) as an aphrodisiac and in the treatment of impotence, which is one of the manifestations of diabetes mellitus. An aqueous extract of the roots at doses of 0.1,0.2, 0.4 and 1.0 g/kg body weight lowered the area under the oral glucose tolerance curve (OGTT) in normal albino rabbits by 0.3 (P >0.05), 7.85, 11.0 and 9.6% (P =0.05), respectively. Chlorpropamide (0.1 g/kg body weight) had a greater effect on blood glucose and lowered area under the OGTT curve by 16.3%. The extract, at a dose of 0.4 g/kg body weight, had no effect on fasting blood glucose (FBG) when compared to controls given distilled water (P >0.05), except at 4 h, when the FBG for treated animals was higher. The LD 50 (95% confidence interval) determined by intraperitoneal administration of the extract to white albino mice was 0.30 (0.20-0.50) g/kg body weight. We conclude that the aqueous extract of Securinega virosa roots lowered the area under the OGTT curve dose-dependently at doses between 0.1 and 1.0 g/kg body weight. It did not lower blood glucose below fasting levels both in the fed and fasted state. More work is required to determine the toxic characteristics of the extract and the utility of the observed activity in the management of diabetes mellitus in humans.