Advances in Natural and Applied Sciences, 8(4) April 2014, Pages: 233-236 AENSI Journals Advances in Natural and Applied Sciences ISSN:1995-0772 EISSN: 1998-1090 Journal home page: www.aensiweb.com/anas/index.html Corresponding Author: Professor Dr. Mohammed Rahmatullah, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Dean, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, House No. 78, Road No. 11A (new), Dhanmondi, Dhaka- 1205, Bangladesh Tele: +88-01715032621 Fax: +88-02-815739 E-mail: rahamatm@hotmail.com Anti-hyperglycemic Activity Studies on Leaves and Stems of Areca catechu L. (Arecaceae) Shirin Akhter, Maruf Hassan, Shahnaz Rahman, Afifa Sultana, Shejuty Shahreen, Joyonta Banik, Rownak Jahan, Mohammed Rahmatullah Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history: Received 25 January 2014 Received in revised form 12 March 2014 Accepted 14 April 2014 Available online 5 May 2014 Keywords: Areca catechu; Hypoglycemic activity; Serum glucose level; Glibenclamide. Areca catechu L. (Arecaceae) leaves and stems are used in folk medicinal system of Bangladesh for treating intestinal pain, ulcer, dental disease, diarrhea, gout, and constipation, but so far no scientific study has been done with regard to their anti- hyperglycemic effects. This study was undertaken to evaluate the possible glucose tolerance efficacy of methanolic extracts of Areca catechu leaves and stems using glucose-induced hyperglycemic mice. Different doses of the extracts were administered an hour before glucose administration and blood glucose levels measured two hours following glucose administration (p.o.) using glucose oxidase method. The statistical data indicated significant and dose-dependent oral hypoglycemic activity on glucose- loaded mice at all doses of the extracts tested. Maximum anti-hyperglycemic activity was shown at 400 mg leaf as well as stem extract per kg body weight, which was comparable to that of glibenclamide (a standard drug for comparing anti-hyperglycemic activity, administered at a dose of 10 mg/kg body weight). Dose for dose, the leaf extract showed more anti-hyperglycemic effects than the stem extract. © 2014 AENSI Publisher All rights reserved. To Cite This Article: Shirin Akhter, Maruf Hassan, Shahnaz Rahman, Afifa Sultana, Shejuty Shahreen, Joyonta Banik, Rownak Jahan, Mohammed Rahmatullah., Anti-hyperglycemic Activity Studies on Leaves and Stems of Areca catechu L. (Arecaceae). Adv. in Nat. Appl. Sci., 8(4): 233-236, 2014 INTRODUCTION Areca catechu L. (Arecaceae) (local name: supari) is more commonly known as the areca palm or betel nut palm because its fruit is chewed often with betel leaf. The palm tree can grow up to 20 meters tall, and is cultivated throughout the tropical parts of the Indian sub-continent, including Bangladesh (Satyavatia et al., 1976). The fruits of the palm (nuts) are known to be in use for over two thousand years (Bradley, 1979) and are chewed either by themselves for breath freshening effect, digestive aid, expelling intestinal worms (Cawte, 1985), or as in Bangladesh, with betel leaf, lime and other ingredients as a digestive aid and stimulant effect. Betel nut with betel leaf chewing is possibly the biggest addiction in Bangladesh, more so than tobacco. Chewing of the nut reportedly caused a depressive effect on the heart and hypotension (Kapoor, 1990; Lin et al., 2002). A number of alkaloids have been reported to be present in the nut. These include arecoline, arecaidine, guvacoline, guvacine, arecolidine, and choline (Chu, 2001; Farnsworth, 1976). Presence of phenolic compounds like hydroxychavicol and safrole, and phytochemicals like tannins, gallic acid, catechin, ฀-sitosterol, gum and amino acids have been reported in betel nut (Wang et al., 1997; Duke, 1992). The anti-depressant effects of ethanol extract of betel nuts have been reported (Dar and Khatoon, 1997). Cholinomimetic and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory constituents have also been reported in betel nut (Gilani et al., 2004). Arecoline, an alkaloid present in betel nut reportedly showed hypoglycemic activities (Chempakam, 1993). The compound also reportedly enhanced uptake of 2-deoxyglucose dose-dependently in L6 myotubes and caused increased expression of glucose transporter type 4 (GLUT4) and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) genes suggesting that the compound can replace commercially available anti-diabetic drugs (Prabhakar and Doble, 2010). On the other hand, it has been reported that arecoline significantly attenuated in 3T3-L1 adipocytes insulin-induced uptake of glucose (Hsu et al., 2010). Clearly, more studies are necessary for accurate evaluation of betel nut extract or isolated constituents like arecoline from nut for any possible anti-diabetic effects.