Blood glucose reduction of combination of Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f) Ness and Morinda citrifolia L. ethanolic extract in neonatal streptozotocin-induced Type 2 diabetes mellitus rats

Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Ness and Morinda citrifolia L. are two medicinal plants that traditionally used by Indonesian people for diabetes treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the hypoglycemic effect of A. paniculata ethanolic extract (APEE) and M. citrifolia ethanolic extract (MCEE) combination in neonatal streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetes mellitus rats in regard to its pancreatic regeneration effect. The powder of dried A. paniculata herbs and M. citrifolia fruits were macerated using 70% ethanol. Phytochemical analysis of andrographolide in APEE and scopoletin in MCEE were performed by TLC-densitometry using stationery phase of silica gel 60 F254 and mobile phase of n-hexane-chloroformmethanol (6:41:3 v/v/v). Hyperglycemic condition in rats was induced with a single dose injection of 90 mg/kg BW streptozotocin (STZ) intraperitoneally in 2 days neonatal rats. Twelve weeks old neonatal STZ-induced rats were orally administrated with several dosage combination of APEE: MCEE (375:125; 250:250; 125:375 mg/kg BW) for 14 consecutive days. Hypoglycemic effect was evaluated by measuring pre-prandial and post-prandial blood glucose levels and other parameters such as pancreatic islet morphology, density of pancreatic β cells, and pancreatic insulin expression. In the study, concentration of andrographolide in APEE was 13.72% while scopoletin in MCEE was 0.32%. Single treatment of APEE and MCEE exhibited no significant hypoglycemic effect than this of its combination. However, the combination of APEE and MCEE exhibited a better improvements in pancreatic islet morphology and increased insulin pancreatic expression than that of single treatment of APEE or MCEE. Combination of APEE: MCEE in dose 250:250 mg/kg BW exhibited better hypoglycemic effect and pancreatic regeneration than other combinations. Combination of A. paniculata and M. citrifolia ethanolic extracts is potential to develop as an anti-diabetic agent.