Comparative Antidiabetic Effects of Five Medicinal Plants

Abstract

Kukavica and colleagues examined the antidiabetic, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties of ethanol extracts of five medicinal plants, Salvia officinalis, Trifolium pratense, Agrimonia eupatoria, Cichorium intybus, and Vinca minor for their possible use in the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D). It was found that A. eupatoria extract contains the highest percentage of flavonoids and showed excellent antidiabetic, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activity. Their study revealed that S. officinalis extract contains slightly fewer flavonoids and showed weaker antidiabetic activity but stronger antioxidant activity, and excellent antibacterial activity. T. pratense A extract was found to possess a slightly lower percentage of flavonoids compared to S. officinalis, had excellent antidiabetic activity but weaker antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. C. intybus was found to possess a similar percentage of flavonoids and phenolic acids, and showed moderate antidiabetic, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties. The richest source of phenolic acids was V. minor (80%, with the most abundant chlorogenic acid), which resulted in weaker antidiabetic and antioxidant activities (except for Fe²⁺ chelating ability) and antimicrobial activity. Their results suggest that A. eupatoria has the greatest potential for developing into a T2D treatment. J Ethnopharmacol. 2024 Feb 10:320:117377. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2023.117377.