Pharmacological, Phytochemical and histopathological basis of Conyza bonariensis in the potential management of diabetes mellitus.

To evaluate the anti-diabetic potential of aqueous methanolic extract of Conyza bonariensis amongst the Wistar rats. Phytochemical and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analyses of phenols and flavonoids were examined. The plant extract (250 and 500mg/kg/day) was explored for its anti-hyperglycemic effect for 14 days in normoglycemic and alloxan-induced diabetic rats using the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). HPLC analyses demonstrated the composition of the plant extract as gallic acid, cinnamic acid, quercetin, p-coumaric acid and syringic acid. The blood glucose concentrations in experimental diabetic as well as non-diabetic rats significantly decreased with doses 250 and 500 mg/kg in OGTT. Moreover, the significant drop in fasting glucose level was observed following 14 days of therapy. It also ameliorated the serum cholesterol, total protein, low and high density lipoproteins, glycosylated hemoglobin A1C and serum amylase with respect to untreated rats suffering from diabetes. There appeared to be no significant alteration with regard to body weight amongst the treated rats. The plant extract revamped the pancreatic islets of Langerhans and abridged alloxan-induced degenerative changes in the liver. It can be concluded that Conyza bonariensis extract has a pronounced hypoglycemic effect on diabetes due to the presence of phytochemicals.