ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF GYMNEMIC ACID FROM GYMNEMA SYLVESTRE R.BR. IN CONTROL OF DIABETES

Life Science-Pharmacognosy

Abstract

Diabetes is one of the oldest wide spread diseases of the world which is due to lack of insulin utilization or production. It is a gene-controlled disorder besides the expression is regulated by other environmental factors like food habits, life style, age etc. In this context, plant-based therapeutics are promising. The invaluable traditional anti-diabetic plants are sure to provide alternative therapeutic agents for diabetes. Gymnema sylvestre is a vine-like plant and is considered as herbal remedy for high blood sugar. The important active ingredient of Gymnema sylvestre is an organic acid called “Gymnemic acid”. The recent studies have shown that the extract of Gymnema sylvestre is useful in controlling blood sugar to treat type-II diabetes. It increases the insulin producing b-cells of pancreas and significantly reduces the metabolic effects of sugar by preventing the intestine from absorbing the sugar molecules during the process of digestion. The objective of the present investigation was to isolate and characterize the Gymnemci acid, from seventeen ecotypes of Gymnema sylvestre leaves with different solvent systems like petroleum ether, benzene, and methanol. The defatted leaves were extracted under continuous hot extraction in Soxhlet apparatus with 90% methanol gave the maximum yield of gymnemic acid (42%) from the ecotype collected from Warangal-1. Gymnemic acid was purified by preparative chromatographic methods i.e., TLC and HPTLC. The anlysis by HPTLC showed 30% purity of Gymnemic acid.