Antioxidant and antidiabetic activities of flower extract from Butea monosperma (Lam.) Taub.

Flowers of Butea monosperma (Lam.) Taub. havebeen widely used in treatment of various diseases and differentpurposes such as antifertility, antidiarrhoea, antifungal, antiinflammatory,antimicrobial, anticancer, antihelmintic, andantidiabetic properties. However, few studies on antioxidantand antidiabetic activities of flower extract from this planthave been established. The present study was therefore,carried out to investigate antioxidant and antidiabetic activitiesof flower extract from Butea monosperma. The plant flowerswere shade dried, powdered and extracted with 80% ethanol.Antioxidant activity of flower extract from Butea monosperma(BMFE) was investigated in vitro model using 2,2 diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay. Anantidiabetic activity of BMFE was conducted instreptozotocin-induced diabetic rats by oral administration ofBMFE at a dose of 250 mg/kg once daily to the rats for 8weeks. Body weight and fasting blood glucose level wereexamined weekly. Additionally, after eight weeks oftreatment, serum insulin, lipid profile and blood chemistry ofthe rats were investigated. The results revealed that BMFEshowed low potent free radical scavenging with IC50 at231.64+0.99 μg/ml compared to L-ascorbic acid(1.48+0.07μg/ml). BMFE reduced (p<0.05) blood glucoselevel, and increased (p