Bioassay-guided Antidiabetic Study of Chromatographic Fractions of Boswellia Dalzielii Hutch. Leaf Extract

Background: Boswellia dalzielli Hutch. (Burseraceae) is a medicinal plant, which is used locally by the local dwellers for the management and treatment of microbial-related diseases, neurological conditions, stomach spasms, diabetes, etc. Objectives: This study aimed at isolating a phytochemical of anti-diabetic potentials from the leaf of Boswellia dalzielii in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Methods: The n-butanol fraction of the leaf of B. dalzielii was fractionated using column chromatography. Fractions obtained were screened phytochemically and by antidiabetic study. Results: Encoded column fraction B4 (150 mg/kg) produced a maximum reduction (72.45%) in fasting blood glucose (FBG) of animals after 7 hours, which was significantly (P<0.05) different from the controls (alloxan-induced diabetic rats) and was better than glibenclamide (52.67%). The re-column fractions obtained from fraction B4 were pooled based on similar Rf values and encoded B41-B48, and subjected to further antidiabetic evaluation on alloxan-induced mice. Eight sub-fraction with doses of 50 mg/kg each were administered to all the groups. Fraction B44 had the highest reduction of FBG by 65.63%, whose effect was significantly higher than the non-treated diabetic mice (negative control) and glibenclamide (52.68%) at 2.0 mg. Further purification of sub-fraction B44 with Sephadex LH-20 yielded encoded fractions A, B, and C. Isolate C showed the highest inhibition of glycemia (22.85%) when the dose of 10 mg/kg was administered (p.o). Conclusion: The antidiabetic effect of the plant in laboratory animals (rats and mice) may be due to the presence of the isolated phenolic compounds.