DOI: 10.36347/sajp

Pages: 112-116

Aldose reductase enzyme plays an important role in diabetic complications such as cataracts. The purpose of this study was to look into plant extract used for the treatment of diabetes, and their principal fraction for Aldose reductase (AR) inhibitory activity and to find out their influence in diabetic complications. Thus, ethanolic extracts of Raphanus sativus L. and their respective its organic solvent soluble fractions, including the ethyl acetate (EtOAc), nbutanol (BuOH) and water layers, using DL-glyceraldehyde as a substrate, were studied for their inhibitory activity against rat lens AR, rat kidney AR. In addition, in vivo inhibition of lens galactitol accumulation by the major soluble fraction of the plant extract in galactose-fed rat model has been studied. The results shows that all the tested soluble fraction of extracts possess significant AR inhibitory actions in both in vitro and in vivo assays with n-butanol showing the most the most potent effect. The results obtained in this study give a new dimension to the hitherto unknown activity of the plants as possible protective agents against long-term diabetic complications