Glucose uptake potential in L6 myotubes by Ficus racemosa

Introduction: Ficus racemose, mostly as fruits and bark decoction to treat uncontrolled diabetes has been extensively applied in ayurvedic medicine in India. The objective of this study was to assess the uptake of glucose in L6 myotubes by Ficus racemosa. Background: Diabetes is a common metabolic disease characterized by abnormally high plasma glucose levels, leading to major complications, such as diabetic neuropathy, retinopathy and cardiovascular diseases. Presently available oral hypoglycaemic agents have exhibited several side effects. Therefore, more effective oral antihyperglycemic agents, particularly those that normalize both insulin and glucose levels are needed to be found. Method: Cell culture: L6, a mono layer myoblast culture (obtained from NCCS, Pune-Passageno-19) was cultured in the DMEM. In vitro glucose uptake activity: Glucose uptake assay was followed by the methodology of (Gupta et al, 2009). Result: It was observed from the results that Ficus racemosa extract at different concentrations exhibited substantial degree of glucose uptake in skeletal muscle cells, which was compared with that of Standard Metformin. A maximum glucose uptake of 53% was observed for ficus 30mg/ml, whereas metformin exhibited 61% of glucose uptake. The IC50 of ficus extract and metformin was found to be 2.57mg/ml and 1.79mg/ml, respectively. Conclusion: From the study that was conducted, it could be concluded that Ficus racemosa had a better glucose uptake compared to that of Standard Metformin used by diabetic patients.