In vitro evaluation of the anti-diabetic potential of Helichrysum petiolare Hilliard & B.L. Burtt using HepG2 (C3A) and L6 cell lines

Background: Helichrysum petiolare Hilliard & B.L. Burtt has been listed in a survey of plants used in traditional medicine for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. In this study, the antidiabetic potentials of ethanol, cold aqueous (CAQ) and boiled aqueous (BAQ) extracts of H. petiolare were investigated. Methods: The cytotoxic and glucose utilization effects of the extracts were evaluated using L6 myocytes and HepG2 (C3A) hepatocytes. α-amylase, α-glucosidase and lipase inhibition assays were also carried out. Results: The ethanol extract showed significant cytotoxic effects in the treated cells. Both BAQ and CAQ extracts significantly increased glucose uptake in L6 and C3A cell lines. The CAQ extract enhanced glucose uptake more in the L6 myocytes than in the C3A cell-lines hepatocytes. The BAQ extract showed higher levels of inhibition on α–amylase and α-glucosidase than CAQ. The activities were not significantly different from acarbose. However, BAQ showed lower lipase inhibition than acarbose (p<0.05). Conclusions: The BAQ and CAQ extracts of H. petiolare may, therefore, contain pharmacologically active and relatively non-toxic hypoglycaemic chemicals, which may be effective substitutes in the treatment of diabetes mellitus.