24-ethyl-4-cholesten-3-one and Diabetes-Mellitus

Intravenous administration of the hexane extract of the bark of Anacardium occidentale (cashew) in normal, healthy dogs produced a significant lowering of the blood glucose levels. Pursuit of the hypoglycaemic principle(s) in the hexane extract resulted in the isolation and characterization of two compounds, stigmast-4-en-3-ol (1) and stigmast-4-en-3-one (2). These compounds were purified by chromatographic methods and the structures were characterized by spectroscopic methods. Both compounds produced significant hypoglycaemic activity after intravenous administration at a dose of 1.3 mg/kg body weight. The bark of the cashew plant, A. occidentale, exhibited a hypoglycaemic effect probably due to the presence of these compounds.

Topics: Anacardium; Animals; Diabetes Mellitus; Dogs; Female; Glucose Tolerance Test; Hypoglycemic Agents; Injections, Intravenous; Male; Phytotherapy; Plant Bark; Plant Extracts; Stigmasterol; Structure-Activity Relationship