Abstract
Struthanthus quercicola (Schltdl. & Cham.) D.Don, Loranthaceae, is the true Mexican mistletoe has been used by traditional healers for the treatment of diabetes mellitus in the Teenek area from San Luis Potosi, Mexico, regardless of its harvest host tree species. To validate the biological effect of S. quercicola collected from two different host trees, in vitro and in vivo assays were set up. The results demonstrated that S. quercicola decoction exhibited both antihyperglycemic and hypoglycemic activities and demonstrated the capacity of the plant decoction to maintain long-term glucose homeostasis without inducing hepatotoxicity. Rapid ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-photo-diode array analysis showed the presence of vitexin, vitexin-2-O-rhamnoside, quercetin-3-β-d-glucoside, and epi-catechin in the aqueous extracts. These studies provide evidence to support the traditional use of decoctions, and the results obtained from the hepatotoxic analysis suggest a safe use of the plant with a traditional dosage to develop alternative therapies for the treatment of diabetes.
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Acknowledgements
The authors are in debt with traditional healers from Huasteca Potosina Martina Chaires, Santos Antonio Cruz, and Eutolia Zuviri De La Cruz for their help in the plant material collection, and for sharing their knowledge. We also thank Maria Eugenia Reyna Ortega for her experimental help.
Funding
This research was funded by the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosi, Grant C19-FAI-05-20.20 given to Dr. Denisse de Loera, and by National Council for Science and Technology with Ph.D. Scholarship number 583084 given to M.S. Carely Arjona-Ruiz.
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CAR performed in vitro and in vivo studies and phytochemical analysis, and wrote the original draft. BJF supervised in vivo study and analysis of the data. RGL collected the plant. DdeL supervised in vitro study and phytochemical analysis, and analysis of the data. All authors reviewed, commented, and approved the final manuscript.
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Arjona-Ruiz, C., Juarez-Flores, B., Gamboa-León, R. et al. Antidiabetic Activity and Hepatotoxic Effect of Aqueous Extracts of Struthanthus quercicola. Rev. Bras. Farmacogn. 32, 472–477 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43450-022-00263-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43450-022-00263-9