Formulating anti-diabetic nutraceutical tablets based on edible plants from Tripura, India

Nutraceuticals are food-based drugs that are used as dietary supplements to minimize chronic diseases. Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases all over the world. Recently, herbal nutraceuticals have taken a promising role in treating diabetes. We aimed to develop herbal nutraceutical tablets and evaluate its anti-diabetic activity using ob/ob mice. Five plant species were collected by field survey methods based on oral interviews with traditional healers of Tripura. The wet granulation method was applied to formulate the herbal nutraceutical tablet. Water- and fat-soluble vitamins were determined by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Trace elements were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. To evaluate the anti-diabetic activity of the herbal tablets, we determined serum hemoglobin, glycosylated serum protein, and oral glucose tolerance. The newly formulated herbal nutraceutical tablets provided the optimal energy level. It contained sufficient amounts of essential minerals, such as iron (74.6 ± 2.7 mg/g), sodium (4.4 ± 0.4 mg/g), potassium (5.3 ± 0.7 mg/g), calcium (163.1 ± 2.2 mg/g), magnesium (39.2 ± 1.7 mg/g), and phosphorus (14.6 ± 2.1 mg/g). We also found optimal quantities of water-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin C (27.2 ± 4.3 mg/g), vitamin B1 (0.6 ± 0 mg/g), vitamin B3 (0.6 ± 0.2 mg/g), vitamin B6 (1.1 ± 0.2 mg/g), vitamin B12 (0.6 ± 0.2 mcg/g), and folic acid (82.6 ± 7.6 mcg/g), as well as fat-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin A (287.4 ± 6.3 mcg/g), vitamin D3 (2.6 ± 0.6 mcg/g), and vitamin E (0.7 ± 0 ng/g). Finally, the herbal nutraceutical tablet (200 mg/kg) significantly improved the anti-hyperglycemic effect on ob/ob mice (type 2 diabetes), compared to the standard drug, metformin (200 mg/kg). The results suggest that the newly formulated herbal tablet may be recommended as an anti-diabetic nutraceutical drug.