Antidiabetic Potential Of Rauvolfia Serpentina: Pharmacological Evaluation Of An Endangered Ethnomedicinal Resource

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus remains a major global health burden, characterized by chronic hyperglycemia and associated metabolic complications (WHO, 2022). The present study investigated the antidiabetic potential of Rauvolfia serpentina, an endangered ethnomedicinal resource widely used in traditional medicine. In vitro studies revealed a concentration-dependent inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase, enzymes central to postprandial hyperglycemia (Patel et al., 2021; Subramanian et al., 2023). In vivo studies using alloxan-induced diabetic rats demonstrated that treatment with R. serpentina extract significantly reduced fasting blood glucose and improved lipid profiles, showing comparable effects to metformin (Agrawal et al., 2023; Kumar et al., 2022). These findings suggest that R. serpentina could serve as a promising plant-based therapeutic option for diabetes management, provided sustainable conservation strategies are employed (Akintelu & Folorunso, 2020).