A novel compound from Casearia esculenta (Roxb.) root and its effect on carbohydrate metabolism in streptozotocin-diabetic rats

Casearia esculenta root (Roxb.) is widely used in traditional system of medicine to treat diabetes in India. An active compound 3-hydroxymethyl xylitol (3-HMX) has been isolated and its optimum dose has been determined in a short duration study and patented. In the present study, the long-term effect of 3-HMX in type 2 diabetic rats has been investigated. An optimum dose of 3-HMX (40 mg/kg body weight) was orally administered for 45 days to streptozotocin-diabetic rats for the assessment of glucose, insulin, hemoglobin (Hb), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), hepatic glycogen, and activities of carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes, such as glucokinase, glucose 6-phosphatase, fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and hepatic marker enzymes, such as aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and gammaglutamyl transferase (GGT) in normal and streptozotocin-diabetic rats. 3-HMX at 40 mg dose produced similar effects on all biochemical parameters studied as that of glibenclamide, a standard drug. Histological study of pancreas also confirmed the biochemical findings. These results indicate that 3-hydroxymethyl xylitol, the compound from C. esculenta, possesses antihyperglycemic effect on long-term treatment also.