VOLUME 9 NUMBER 3 • SEPTEMBER 2012
117
SA JOURNAL OF DIABETES & VASCULAR DISEASE
REVIEW
Subsequently, we isolated oleanolic acid as the bioactive
compound and have shown that it possesses reno-protective
effects in experimental diabetes mellitus. Therefore,
S cordatum
-
derived oleanolic acid caused increased renal Na
+
excretion in STZ-
Table 1.
Partial survey of medicinal plants/plant extracts which affected the cardiovascular and kidney function in diabetes mellitus.
Botanical species
Bioactive compounds Antidiabetic advantages Renal function advantages Cardiovascular advantages
References
Allium sativum
L
(
garlic) (Alliaceae)
phenols
flavonoids
insulin secretion
hepatic glycogen
GFR
vasorelaxant,
i
hypolipidaemic
67, 68
Gongronema
latifolium
flavonoids
saponins
polyphenols
hepatic glycogen
anti-oxidant
i
hypolipidaemic
69
Foeniculum vulgare
L (Apiaceae)
phyto-oestrogens
i
glucose absorption
diuretic
natriuretic
vasorelaxant
70
Opuntia mega-
cantha
phenols,
flavonoids (quercetin)
taxifolin
i
glucose absorption
GFR
vasorelaxant
71, 72, 73
Syzygium
spp
phenylpropanoids
flavonoids sesquiter-
penes oleanolic acid
rhamnetin
i
hepatic glycogen
insulin secretion
GFR
anti-oxidant
vasorelaxant
63, 66, 74
Sclerocarya birrea
[(
A Rich) Hochst]
[
Anacardiaceae]
flavonoids,
alkaloids, triterpenoids,
coumarins,
ascorbic acid
hepatic glucose
utilisation
insulin secretion
GFR
vasorelaxant
32, 75
Persea americana
Mill (Lauraceae)
[
Avocado]
tannins, saponins
flavonoids, alkaloids
glycosides
hepatic glycogen
insulin secretion
GFR
vasorelaxant
bradycardia
i
hypolipidaemic
32, 76, 77,
78
Hypoxis hemerocal-
lidea
glycoside hypoxoside
β
-
sitosterol sterolins,
cytokinins
insulin secretion
reno-toxic
i
GFR
cardiodepressant bradycardia
79, 80
Ficus thonningii
(
Blume) [Morarceae]
alkaloids anthraqui-
nones flavonoids
saponins tannins
hepatic glycogen
GFR
cardiodepressant vasorelaxant
bradycardia
17, 81
Olea europaea
L,
(
Oleaceae)
triterpenes, flavonoids,
glycosides
insulin secretion
glucose utilisation
GFR
anti-oxidant
cardiodepressant vasorelaxant
bradycardia
36, 82, 83,
84
Helichrysum ceres
S Moore
[
Asteraceae]
polyphenols, tannins,
triterpenes
saponins
unclear
diuretic
natriuretic
cardiodepressant vasorelaxant,
bradycardia
38, 39
Ekebergia capensis
Sparrm
(
Meliaceae)
saponins
alkaloids
flavonoids
tannins
unclear
unclear
cardiodepressant vasorelaxant
bradycardia
85
Fig. 2.
Sub-chronic treatment with
F thonningii
bark ethanolic extracts (FTE)
every third day increased glomerular filtration rate in STZ-diabetic rats.
63
induced diabetic rats, which was mediated by an improvement in
glomerular filtration rate (Fig. 3).
63
Other active agents identified
in these plants include polysaccharides, flavonoids, xanthones
and peptides.
Fig. 3.
Sub-chronic treatment with oleanolic acid (OA, 60 mg/kg bid every third
day) increased glomerular filtration rate in STZ-diabetic rats.
66
