Abstract

Background: Artemisia afra, Moringa oleifera, and Persea americana are traditionally used in northern Tanzania for diabetes management. Previous studies demonstrated individual hypoglycemic effects, with M. oleifera showing the strongest activity. This study aimed to develop and evaluate hypoglycemic activity of an optimized polyherbal formulation of the three plants.
Methods: Based on prior percentage glucose-lowering activity, extracts of A. afra, P. americana, and M. oleifera were combined in a 2:3:5 ratio, respectively. The formulation was evaluated using Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) in glucose-loaded normal white albino mice. Animals received doses of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg of the formulation. Blood glucose was measured at 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, and 4 hours post-glucose administration. Data were expressed as mean ± SEM (n=6). Statistical analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test in IBM SPSS Statistics version 20, at p

Key words: Diabetes, Antidiabetic potential, Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), Ethnomedicine, Medicinal plants, Phytotherapy