Abstract Book - 3rd International Symposium on Medicinal Plants ...

1.38 Evaluation of the Antidiabetic Effect of the Aqueous Extract of A
Medicinal Plant Used in Algerian Traditional Medicine: Rubus
fruticosus.
HENCHIRI C., BOUASLA, A., and DERRADJ M.
Laboratoire de Biochimie et de Microbiologie Appliquées. Faculté des Sciences. Université Badji
Mokhtar, Annaba (Algérie).
<strong>Abstract</strong>.: This study aimed to demonstrate the supposed anti-diabetic effect of aqueous
extract of the berries of Rubus fruticosus, botanical species of the Rosaceae family. The
experiments were conducted on Wistar rats with Alloxan induced diabetes. For that 30 male
rats were divided into six groups of five rats: a healthy control group and an untreated diabetic
rats, have received distilled water, a diabetic group treated with glibenclamide (3mg/kg), two
diabetic groups have traited with the aqueous extract at 200 and 400 mg / kg body
weight orally and twice daily for 21 days. The results of biochemical analysis of blood
after sacrifice, showed in the untreated diabeticgroup: hyperglycemia, hypercholesterolemia,
hypertriglyceridemia accoed by a decrease in total protein, increased levels of urea and the
change of the enzyme activity GOT, GPT, as well as alkaline phosphatase. The histology of the
pancreas showed atrophy in the islets of Langerhans characterized by necrosis. Meanwhile, the
administration of aqueous extract caused a decrease dose-dependent blood glucose accompanied
by a regulation of lipid profile, protein and activity of transaminases and alkaline phosphatase; the
results obtained with the 400 mg / kg b.w. are similar to those obtained with the drug
(glibenclamide). A phytochemical study was also conducted; she was able to detect bioactive
following groups: Flavonoids, Saponins, Tannin, Sterol and Terpenes
Key words: Alloxan, antidiabetic effect of plants, diabetes, medicinal plants, Rubus fruticosus.
1.39 Natural Products As Lead Structures for the Discovery of New
Anticancer Agents
Hohmann, Judit
Institute of Pharmacognosy, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
<strong>Abstract</strong>: Plants or plant extracts have a long history of use in the treatment of cancer and these
substances play a crucial role as a source of effective anticancer therapy. Natural compounds
have a significant contribution to the success of cancer chemotherapy today, and many
compounds are under clinical evaluation or are promising drug candidates as enhancer the
antitumor activity of chemotherapeutic drugs by inhibiting multidrug resistance of cancer cells. The
aim of our research program was the isolation and identification of natural compounds, especially
from species of the Hungarian flora, in order to find promising lead compounds and scaffold for
drug discovery and development. A broad screening program was recently made by our
workgroup testing about 700 plant extracts prepared from more than 100 species of Asteraceae,
Polygonaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Rutaceae and Lamiaceae family on human cancer cell lines
(HeLa, MCF-7, A431) for tumour cell growth inhibitory effect. The highly active extracts from this
screening (e.g. Centaurea, Achillea, Artemisia, Euphorbia, Conyza, Anthemis, Tamus, Sprekelia
and Ruta species) were selected for bioactivity-guided isolation using solvent-solvent partition, CC,
VLC, CPC, MPLC and HPLC techniques. The structures of the pure compounds were determined
by means of 1D- and 2D-NMR and MS spectral analyses, and then the compounds were
subjected to antiproliferative assay. The tumour cell selectivity of cytotoxic compounds, which is a
critical pharmacological feature of new anticancer drug candidates, was assayed on noncancerous
cells (MRC-5). The final result of these phytochemical works was the identification of a
set of effective, and previously unknown or poorly characterised compounds belonging mainly to
the group of alkaloids, flavonoids, lignans, phenanthrenes and terpenoids. Many isolated
compounds were investigated for multidrug resistance reversing activity, too. The inhibition of ABC
transporters responsible for MDR of cancer cells is a particularly important effect of the
compounds because the efflux inhibitors applied in combination with anticancer agents may
reverse the chemotherapy resistance of various types of tumour cells. Our experiments reveal that
some of the compounds can serve as adjuvant to current chemotherapy in as much as they
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