Banaba and its usage

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This is a Banaba..Banaba is a deciduous tropical flowering tree, 5 to 10 meters high, sometimes growing to a height of 20 meters. Bark is smooth, grey to cream-colored, and peels off in irregular flakes. Leaves are smooth, large, spatulate, oblong to elliptic-ovate, 4 to 8 centimeters in width, 12 to 25 centimeters in length, shedding its leaves the first months of the year. Flowers are 6-parted, purplish lilac or mauve-pink, rarely pink, 5 to 7.5 centimeters across, and borne in large, terminal panicles up to 40 centimeters in length. Petals are oblong-obovate or obovate, shortly clawed, and 3 to 3.5 centimeters long; the margins are undulate and hardly fimbriate. Fruit is a large nutlike capsule, obovoid or ellipsoid, and 2 to 3.5 centimeters long. Seed is pale brown, with a wing 12 to 18 millimeters long. Decoction of leaves of all ages used for diabetes mellitus. Some physicians believe the dried fruit decoction to be better.
- Roots have been used for a variety of stomach ailments. Leaf decoction for diabetes; also use as a diuretic and purgative.
- Decoction of old leaves and dried fruit (dried from one to two weeks), 50 gms to a pint of boiling water, 4 to 6 cups daily has been used for diabetes. Old leaves and ripe fruit are preferred, believed to have greater glucose lowering effect. Young leaves and flowers have a similar effect, though only 70% that of matures leaves and fruits. The wood has no known glucose lowering effect; the bark, a very small amount. A decoction of 20 gms of old leaves or dried fruit in 100 cc of water was found to have the equivalent effect to that of 6 to 7.7 units of insulin.
- In Pahang decoction of bark has been used for the treatment of diarrhea.
- Infusion of bark used for diarrhea.
- The bark, flowers and leaves used to facilitate bowel movements.
- Decoction of fruits or roots gargled for aphthous stomatitis.
- Decoction of leaves and flowers used for fevers and as diuretic.
- Leaf decoction or infusion used for bladder and kidney inflammation, dysuria, and other urinary dysfunctions.
- Seeds considered to have narcotic properties; also employed against aphthae.

 

 Studies
• Corosolic Acid / Lagerstroemin / Gallotannins: Studies have identified several compounds as responsible for its anti-diabetic activity. (1) corosolic acid (2) Lagerstroemin, an ellagitannin (3) gallotannins, of which PPG – penta-O-galloyl-glucopyranose–was identified as the most potent, with a higher glucose transport stimulatory activity than Lagerstroemin. In addition to stimulating glucose uptake in fat cells, it also has anti-adipogenic properties.
• Inhibition of TNF-induced Activation: Diabetes leads to cardiomyocyte hypertrophy in association with upregulation of vasoactive factors and activation of nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB and activating protein-1. Study results indicate L speciosa can inhibit DNA-binding of NF-kappaB which may explain its possible inhibition of diabetes-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy.
• Ellagitannins / Insulin-like Glucose Uptake Stimulatory/Inhibitory Activities / Adipocyte Differentiation-Inhibitory Activity: Study yielded seven ellagitannins, including lagerstroemin from the leaves of L speciosa. The ellagitannins exhibited strong activities in both stimulating insulin-like glucose uptake and inhibiting adipocyte differentiation . Also, ellagic acid derivatives showed inhibitory effect on glucose transport.
• Diabetes: (1) Banaba has been extensively studied for its application in the treatment of diabetes. Early on, Its ability to lower blood sugar was attributed to corosolic acid, a triterpenoid glycoside, believed to facilitate glucose-transport into cells. (2) Studied with abutra, akapulko, makabuhay for antidiabetic activity through activation of glucose transporter activity. One of the active principles from Banaba was the tripertene, corosolic acid.
• Weight loss: Studies in mice suggest an antiobesity effect. It is becoming a common ingredient in weight-loss supplements / products as a metabolic enhancer.
• Hypertension: It is also being studied for its use in the treatment of blood pressure, renal and immune system benefits.
• Lipid-lowering: Studies in mice suggest a lipid lowering effect - decreasing triglyceride and total cholesterol levels. To date, no toxicity has been identified.
• Hypoglycemic Activity of Irradiated Banaba Leaves: Study showed irradiated banaba leaf extract mixed with insulin was found to have a higher hypoglycemic activity compared with mixtures of nBLE and insulin. Results may suggest the potential of reducing the cost of insulin management by lessening the dependence on recombinant insulin.
• Xanthine oxidase inhibitors from the leaves of Lagerstroemia speciosa (L.) Pers: Xanthine oxidase is a key enzyme involved with hyperuricemia, catalyzing the oxidation of hypoxanthine to xanthine to uric acid. The study supports the dietary use of the aqueous extracts from Banaba leaves for the prevention and treatment of hyperuricemia.
• Antidiabetic Activity: Study showed a significant reduction of blood glucose levels with the soft gel formulation showing better bioavailability than a dry-powder formulation.
• Other studies report potential uses: (1) antibacterial effects from seed extracts (2) significant protection of HIV-infected cells by ellagic acid constituents (3) antioxidative activity of a water extract (4) inhibition of xanthine oxidase by aqueous extract, 31 and anti-inflammatory activity in mice.
• Anti-Inflammatory / Free Radical Scavenging: Study showed antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities from the ethyl acetate and ethanol extracts of Lagerstroemia speciosa.
• Antioxidant: A hydroalcoholic extract of leaves of L. speciosa demonstrated antioxidant activity in the nitric oxide model.
• Hypoglycemic Activity / Mechanism of Action: Study of a hot water extract of leaves of L. speciosa showed hypoglycemic activity on experimental diabetic rats through suppression of gluconeogenesis and stimulation of glucose oxidation using the pentose phosphate pathway.
• Hepatoprotective: L. speciosa pers roots showed hepatoprotective activity protecting hepatocytes from CCl4-induced liver damages due to antioxidant effect on hepatocytes.
• Pharmacognostic Evaluation of Leaves: Study provided important information for the correct identification and herbal standardization of L. speciosa leaves. Phytochemical screening yielded alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, triterpenoids, sterol, and saponins. Study suggests the season of collection and storage conditions may lead to fluctuations in the corosolic acid content.