ANTI DIABETIC AND ANALGESIC ACTIVITY OF WITHANIA SOMNIFERA BY SHEENAL DAVDRA U29/35699/2010 SUPERVISOR: DR. S. N. NDWIGAH SCHOOL OF PHARMACY

ABSTRACT Study objectives: The study was mainly aimed at reviewing the hypoglycaemic and analgesic effects of Withania somnifera. Methodology: The Oral Glucose Tolerance Test was performed to evaluate hypoglycaemic activity while analgesic property of the extract was evaluated using the analgeisometer method. Results: W. somnifera was found to have hypoglycaemic with very mild analgesic activity. Conclusion: W. somnifera showed hypoglycaemic activity and very mild analgesic activity.

INTRODUCTION Diabetes is a group of metabolic disease in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced. Untreated, diabetes can cause many complications like renal failure, diabetic retinopathy and cardiovascular diseases.

INTRODUCTION… Pain is among the most common symptoms leading to an unpleasant feeling that is related to real or potential tissue damage. The main strategies if pain management include pain relieving medications, physical and complementary therapies.

LITERATURE REVIEW Plants have become a great importance as the sources of medicines, example Withania somnifera. It has been used for the management of : 1.Anxiety4.Tuberculosis 2.Tumours5. Asthma 3.Parkinson’s disease6. Arthritis

Figure 1: Withania somnifera plant.

STUDY JUSTIFICATION Conventional medicines used for management of chronic debilitating illnesses such as diabetes are costly and have many adverse effects. This calls for exploitation of natural herbs that are effective alternatives to conventional medicines. STUDY OBJECTIVES To carry out anti diabetic and analgesic effects of W. somnifera.

METHODOLOGY W. somnifera was collected from Ruai and extracted using water by maceration and decoction, while soxhlet extraction was done using methanol and chloroform. The Oral Glucose Tolerance Test was performed on rats using the plant extracts. Metformin and normal saline were used as positive and negative controls respectively.

METHODOLOGY… The analgesic property of the extract was evaluated using the analgeisometer method. The extracts were administered intraperitoneally and observations made on the duration taken for the mice to respond to heat stimulus. Morphine and normal saline were used as positive and negative control respectively.

RESULTS W. somnifera was found to have hypoglycaemic effect with an onset of action between min with maximum effect at 240 min

RESULTS… Very mild analgesic activity was observed when compared to the negative and positive controls.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMENDATIONS W. somnifera showed hypoglycaemic activity and very mild analgesic activity. These results are very encouraging and indicate that the herb should be studied more extensively to confirm these results and reveal other potential therapeutic effects. This should be followed with clinical trials using the plant for a variety of conditions should also be conducted.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My sincere gratitude goes to my project supervisor Dr. S. N. Ndwigah for his advice, guidance and support throughout the entire project. I am also greatful to Dr. A. O. Okaru for his assistance. Special tribute goes to the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacognosy technologists for their technical assistance.

REFERENCES Alexiou P. and Demopoulos V.J. (2010). Medicinal plants used for the treatment of diabetes and its long term complications. Page Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, school of pharmacy Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Definition, diagnosis, and classification of diabetes mellitus and its complications. World Health Organization (1999). Available.at

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