Anti-inflammatory and hypoglycaemic effects of Tetrapleura tetraptera (Taub) [fabaceae] fruit aqueous extract in rats

The fruit of Tetrapleura tetraptera (Taub) [Fabaceae] is frequently used in Tropical African traditional medicine for the management and/or control of an array of human ailments, including arthritis and other inflammatory conditions, asthma, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, epilepsy, schistosomiasis, and so on. The present study was undertaken to examine the anti-inflammatory and hypoglycaemic effects of Tetrapleura tetraptera (Taub) fruit aqueous extract in rats. Fresh egg albumin-induced pedal oedema and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes mellitus were used as experimental test models of inflammation and diabetes. Diclofenac (DIC, 100 mg/kg p.o.) and chlorpropamide (250 mg/kg p.o.) were employed as reference anti-inflammatory and hypoglycaemic agents, respectively, for comparison. Tetrapleura tetraptera (TTE, 50-800 mg/kg p.o.) produced dose-related, significant reductions (P < 0.05-0.001) of the fresh egg albumin-induced acute inflammation of the rat hind paw oedema. The plant extract (TTE, 50-800 mg/kg p.o.) also produced dose-dependent, significant reductions (P < 0.05-0.001) in the blood glucose concentrations of both fasted normal and fasted diabetic rats. The results of this experimental animal study indicate that T tetraptera fruit aqueous extract possesses anti-inflammatory and hypoglycaemic properties. These findings lend pharmacological credence to the suggested folkloric uses of the plant's fruit in the management and/or control of arthritis and other inflammatory conditions, as well as in adult-onset, type-2 diabetes mellitus in some Yoruba-speaking communities of South-Western Nigeria. (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.