Authors: Osadebe P. O, Johnson – Ajinwo O.R.
Diabetes mellitus is the 7th killer disease worldwide and is a progressing disease with lethal consequences on the global front. Lately there have been very few new anti-diabetic agents entering the market, prompting research into medicinal plant which has been a potent source of drugs. Mistletoe; a plant synonymous with the Christmas celebration in Europe, has shown promise as an anti-diabetic plant from ethno pharmacological uses and has been validated in some researches. The eastern Nigeria species parasitic on some host trees has been researched on. However, loranthus micranthus parasitic on kola acuminata merits further investigation given its potentials as an anti-diabetic therapy. This present study was aimed at determining the anti-diabetic activities of the Crude methanol extracts of loranthus micranthus parasitic on kola acuminata sourced in the four seasons of the year; namely January (dry season), April (onset of rainy season), July (rainy season) and October (onset of dry season). The extracts were evaluated in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. The phytochemical analysis of the kola mistletoe of the four seasons was found to contain flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids, terpenoids, steroids, saponins, glycosides, reducing sugar, fats and oils. The anti-diabetic activities were determined after administration of 200mg/kg and 400mg/kg doses of the extracts at these time intervals: 1h 2h, 4h, 6h, 12h, 24h and 72h using a one touch glucometer. The April extract exhibited optimum anti-diabetic activity at both 200mg/kg and 400mg/kg dose levels. This was followed by the extracts sourced in October, July and January respectively. The phytochemical results showed that the April extract had an abundance of flavonoids, tannins and alkaloids, while the January extract which gave the least activity had lesser amounts of these photochemical constituents. This study showed that there is seasonal variation in the phytochemical constituents and anti-diabetic activities of kola mistletoes.
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