An inventory and pharmacological evaluation of medicinal plants used as anti-diabetes and anti-arthritis in Vhembe District Municipality, Limpopo Province

MSc (Botany)

Department of Botany

Diabetes and arthritis are the most common chronic diseases. Arthritis is the leading cause of global disability and diabetes has become a major health problem which is increasing rapidly. The purpose of the study was to document medicinal plants that are used to treat and manage diabetes and arthritis by traditional medicinal practitioners around the Vhembe District Municipality as well as to evaluate their in vitro efficacy. Traditional practitioners were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires. Seventeen plant species belonging to fourteen different families were found to be used in the treatment of diabetes as well as arthritis. Fabaceae family was dominating. Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxicity, alphaamylase and alpha-glucosidase) of five plant species, (Bridellia mollis, Elephantorrihiza burkei, Elaeodendron transvaalense, Senna petersiana and Searsia lancea) used traditionally to manage diabetes were investigated using the standard in vitro procedures. All extracts showed a good nitric oxide inhibition, with highest percentage inhibition found in the highest concentration of 100 μg/ml. They all had good percentage cell viability at lowest concentration which was comparable to quercetin. Only two plant extracts B. mollis (T2) and E. transvaalense (T3) had lower than inhibition of quercetin at 25 μg/ml than at 12.5 μg/ml. In vero cells low toxicity effect was observed at lowest concentration tested, and toxicity increased with the increase in concentration. In bovine dermis cell line all plant extracts had more cell viability at lower concentration than doxorubicin. Ethanol extracts of B. mollis and S. petersiana, and ethyl extract of E. transvaalense had a good alpha-amylase inhibitory activity with IC50 values 58.6, 81.9 and 131.5 mg/ml respectively. Hydro-ethanol, ethyl acetate and ethanol extracts of E. burkei exhibited a significant alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activity with IC50 values 56.9, 52.2 and 129.7 mg/ml respectively. Kinetic analysis revealed non-competitive and un-competitive inhibitions of the plant extracts on alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase enzymes respectively. The information obtained showed that people in Vhembe District Municipality still rely on medicinal plants to treat and manage diabetes and arthritis. All plant extracts were toxic to both bovine dermis and vero cell lines. S. lancea (T5) was found to be the most toxic plant extract. The observed good inhibitions of both alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase enzymes by plant extracts of B. mollis, S. petersiana, E. transvaalense and E. burkei validate their use in the traditional treatment of diabetes in the region to some extent. Aqueous extracts of these medicinal plants should also be investigated because water is the main solvent which is used by traditional practitioners in the preparation of their herbal medicines.