Background and Objective: Plants of the genusMarrubium are used to cure several infectious diseases like asthma, rheumatoid and diabetes.This study investigatedin vivo antihyperglycemic capacity of the methanolic fraction (MeOHE) of twoMarrubium species via animal model.Materials and Methods: The plant extracts were investigated both qualitatively and quantitatively to reveal their phytochemical composition.Pharmacologically speaking, Wistar albino rats of either sex (150-180 g) were used to investigate the antidiabetic effect using 25 rats in each ofthe two used approaches; respectively Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) and streptozotocin-induced diabetes approaches. In addition, variousbiochemical parameters were investigated to confirm the pharmacological quality of our plants. Evaluated for their possible antidiabetic effectduring two consecutive weeks for glycemia levels (2 hrs period). Results: Data revealed that MeOHE induced a significant antihyperglycemic effect,in whichM. deserti, a slight decrease in the glucose level at (143±0.5 mg/dL) was obtained while a reduction was recorded forM. vulgare(71.5±0.75 mg/dL) with a same observation for triglycerides, cholesterol, glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (TGO), glutamic pyruvic transaminase(TGP), creatinine comparing to standard. Moreover, the result showed high levels of phenolic and flavono{\"ıds content. Conclusion: This modestwork confirmed once again the real pharmacological capacity of vegetals and their possible implication to cure diabetes and complications relatedto it underlying the antihyperglycemic activity of these plants.

Purpose: To determine the anti-inflammatory and anti-ulcer properties of the aerial parts of Centaurea tougourensis Boiss. & Reut.

 

Methods: The effects of n-butanol (n-BuOH) extract of the aerial part of Centaurea tougourensis on carrageenan-induced paw edema and ethanol-induced gastric mucosal damage were determined at 2 doses (200 and 400 mg/kg, po) in a mouse model. For each test, the animals were randomly divided into negative and positive control groups, as well as extract-treated groups. The mice were observed for any sign of inflammation for a period of 24h.

 

Results: Reduction of paw edema by C. tougourensis extract was highly significant (p < 0.001) at a dose of 400 mg/kg 24 h after carrageenan injection, with 55.26 % inhibition, followed very closely by 53.15 % inhibition at the dose of 200 mg/kg; indomethacin group showed an inhibition of 60 %. Histological examination supported the inhibition results. A significant reduction in inflammation by the extract at a dose of 400 mg/kg was also observed. No sign of ulcer was observed with C. tougourensis at the two doses (200 and 400 mg/kg). The total polyphenol content of the n-BuOH extract was 85.44 цg gallic acid equivalent/mg of extract. Tannins were the most abundant fraction (51.87 цg tannic acid equivalent/mg of extract), followed by flavonoids (25.55 цg quercetin equivalent/mg of extract).

 

Conclusion: The results indicate that C. tougourensis may have potential beneficial effects in the treatment of diseases associated with inflammation and pain, besides its protective effect on the gastrointestinal tract.

Context: More than 500 Centaurea species compose the Asteraceae family, and most of the recent studies made on the species of this genus proved their pharmacological potential, especially to treat chronic illnesses. Aims: To evaluate for the first time the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective and anti-microbial properties of the n-butanol (nBuOH) and ethyl acetate (EA) extracts of the aerial part of Centaurea tougourensis. Methods: The antioxidant activity was determined by ABTS, galvinoxyl radical, phenanthroline, and reducing power assays, while the antiinflammatory effects were assessed by heat-induced hemolysis and egg albumin denaturation assays. The neuroprotective activity was assessed against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) and the anti-microbial activity by the agar disk diffusion method. Results: Both extracts possess a great antioxidant capacity, but it was considered higher in the n-BuOH extract with respective IC50 values of 8.04 ± 0.21 μg/mL in ABTS assay and 4.25 ± 0.6 μg/mL in GOR assay, while the A0.50 values were 4.46 ± 0.55 μg/mL in phenanthroline assay and 11.16 ± 0.64 μg/mL in reducing power assay. The n-BuOH extract also showed a remarkable anti-inflammatory activity with an EC50 of 120.81 ± 0.2 μg/mL in egg albumin denaturation assay and 154.15 ± 0.14 μg/mL in heat-induced hemolysis assay. The neuroprotective activity of the n-BuOH extract was very strong in both AChE and BChE inhibitory assays with respective IC50 values of 9.8 ± 0.62 μg/mL and 173.53 ± 0.04 μg/mL. EA extract was more active on microbial strains. Conclusions: These encouraging results showed once again the pharmacological potential of Centaurea species

In the last decade, the number of diabetic persons has considerably increased and the scientific community approach to understand this complex pathology has become very difficult due to the fact that diabetes is linked to other illnesses which can generate serious complications like glaucoma, nerve damage. Plants are considered new alternative resources to treat various pathologies including type 2 diabetes, and several research works showed that it is significantly more accurate to use Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) when diagnosing diabetes which prompted us to adopt this model to evaluate the possible anti-hyperglycemic effect of n-BuOH extract of Centaurea tougourensis. More than 500 Centaurea species are distributed in Mediterranean and West Asia zones. These species demonstrated over the years their pharmacological potential like antioxidant, anti-microbial, anti-diabetic, cytotoxic, activities due to their richness in secondary metabolites. A Preliminary phytoscreening was first done to identify the most important secondary metabolites in the plant and revealed the presence of key classes like; tannins, flavonoids, triterpenes… The pre-treatment of mice group by the dose of (400 ml/kg, p.o) of plant extract resulted in a significant (P<0.01) decrease of hyperglycemia (1.32 ± 0.06 g/l) 60 min after the induction of a temporary diabetes with a maximum percentage inhibition of (37%) while the reference group treated by Glibenclamide (10 mg/kg, i.p.) was only (31%) the same time. This concluded that C. tougourensis stabilized the blood glucose level and may have the potential to treat other pathologies.