“ANTIDIABETIC POTENTIAL OF YAVA MANTHA – AN IN VITRO STUDY”

Abstract Background: Diabetes Mellitus [DM] is one among the group of metabolic diseases, in which there is high blood sugar levels over a prolonged period. Presently, more than 7.1% of India’s adult population affected by this disease. 1 yava mantha administered as a therapeutic diet is expected to decrease the glucose levels in DM. In the present study, the adopted samskara (processing) is manthana (churning). As per the verse “samskaro hi gunantaradhanam ucchayte  (processing brings in the quality change/improvement)” 2 , by means of churning, it is expected to improve the quality of yava (Barley). Because DM is a yapya vyadhi (disease not curable but can be managed), importance has been focused on the use of traditional food preparations to tackle this disease. Objectives: The main objective of this study was to study the inhibitory effect of yava mantha on alpha amylase and alpha glucosidase, two intestinal enzymes, and glucose lowering potential of yava mantha. Materials and methods: Work was conducted at CFTRI, Mysore. Barley was purchased from departmental store, cleaned, dry roasted, milled and stored in an air tight container. yava mantha was prepared by adding 48 grams (one  Pala) of powdered yava (yava saktu ), 12 grams (one Karsha ) of ghee (Go Ghrita) and 192 ml of water ( 4 Pala) was added and churned using magnetic churners at the rate of 520 rpm till the homogenous mixture is obtained. i.e., 1:1:4 parts. Results : On comparison with different samples, sample churned for 20 minutes has higher inhibition activity. The inhibition concentration (IC-50, mg/ml) of yava mantha churned for 20 minutes (B1) on alpha glucosidase enzyme (methanol extract) was 1.40mg/ml , on alpha glucosidase enzyme (methanol extract) was 6.34 mg/ml, on alpha glucosidase enzyme (water extract) was 189.17 mg/ml. Discussion and conclusion: The inhibitory effect of yava mantha on alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase activities in vitro indicate that, there is hypoglycemic potential for yava mantha and can be considered as a very good anti-diabetic plant source.