Bangladesh Journal of Pharmacology Volume: 12; Number 2; Year 2017 Cite this article as: Usha T, Middha SK, Narzary D, Brahma BK, Goyal AK. In silico and in vivo based evaluation of traditional antidiabetic herb Hodgsonia heteroclita. Bangladesh J Pharmacol. 2017; 12: 165-66. In silico and in vivo based evaluation of traditional antidiabetic herb Hodgsonia heteroclita Sir, Even after a lot of development in the area of medical therapeutics, diabetes remains to be the most preva- lent health ailment and economic burden throughout the globe. Abnormal metabolism, insulin resistance and insufficient secretion of insulin characterize the nature of this disease. The prevalence of evidenced based complementary and alternative medicines (cCAM) is significantly increas- ing, since they are proven safe, effective and also helps in improving overall health (Balamurugan et al., 2012; Middha et al., 2013; Usha et al., 2013). Plants including Pistacia lentiscus (Rehman et al., 2015), Punica granatum (Middha et al., 2014) have been repor- ted for their antidiabetic effects using animal model. In addition, molecular docking studies were also used as an alternative for animal models (Balamurugan et al., 2012). One such alternative medicine used by the Bodos of North-East India to efficiently manage diabetes mellitus is the fruit pulp of Hodgsonia heteroclita. It is also commonly known as “Hagrani jwgwnar” among the Bodos (The Wealth of India, 1959; Narzary et al., 2015). In this letter, in an effort to gain first evidence for the antidiabetic activity of the functional food H. heteroclita, we present an in silico docking approach for the identification of compounds inhibiting glycogen syn- thase kinase3 (GSK-3 ). Examination of 3D structures of GSK-3 from PDB reveals two types of structures based on the presence of Phe67 and Arg141 residue in its active site and can be named as 1R0E and 1Q4L type (Kim et al., 2009). We used “Discovery studio 3.5” for analysing GSK-3 inhibitory action of the various compounds detected in H. heteroclita by LC-MS. So far, there are no reports indicating the type of GSK-3 inhibition of H. heteroclita. The results imply that several compounds compete- tively inhibit GSK-3 . Caffeic acid exhibited inter- actions with 1ROE at Val70, Lys85, Asp133, Val135, Asp200 and with 1Q4L at Ile62, Ala83, Tyr134, Arg141, Val170 (Figure 1). Preclinical validation of antidiabetic activity of H. heteroclita with two doses (40 and 80 mg/kg/mL) using alloxan-induced diabetic rat model was carried out. There was a significant reduction in blood glucose level i.e. 21 and 31% at 40 and 80 mg/kg/mL dosages respectively when compared to control diabetic rats (Table I). A Journal of the Bangladesh Pharmacological Society (BDPS) Bangladesh J Pharmacol 2017; 12: 165-166 Journal homepage: www.banglajol.info Abstracted/indexed in Academic Search Complete, Agroforestry Abstracts, Asia Journals Online, Bangladesh Journals Online, Biological Abstracts, BIOSIS Previews, CAB Abstracts, Current Abstracts, Directory of Open Access Journals, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Google Scholar, HINARI (WHO), International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, Open J-gate, Science Citation Index Expanded, SCOPUS and Social Sciences Citation Index ISSN: 1991-0088; DOI: 10.3329/bjp.v12i2.31122 Letter to the Editor Table I Final day diabetic level in experimental animals Group Glucose level (mg/dL) Normal control 100 ± 2.9 Diabetic control 398 ± 9.1 Extract of H. heteroclita (40 mg/kg) 315 ± 9.0 Extract of H. heteroclita (80 mg/kg) 280 ± 3.5 Figure 1: Docked molecule with GSK-3 structures (1R0E-like and 1Q4L-like) To conclude, H. heteroclita has antidiabetic potential and further studies can be carried out to understand the mechanism of action in detail. Acknowledgments The authors would like to acknowledge DBT-BIF Facility, GOI and BT-Finishing School, GOK at Maharani Lakshmi Am- manni College for Women, Bangalore for providing the facilities. Talambedu Usha1, Sushil Kumar Middha2, Derhasat Narzary3, Birendra Kumar Brahma4 and Arvind Kumar Goyal4 1Department of Biochemistry, MLA College for Women, Bengaluru 560012, Karnataka, India; 2Department of Biotechnology, MLA College for Women, Bengaluru 560012, Karnataka, India; 3Department of Biotechnology, Bodoland University, Kokrajhar 783370, BTAD, Assam, India; 4Center for Bamboo Studies, Bodoland University, Kokrajhar 783370, BTAD, Assam, India. Corresponding author: email: arvindgoyal210883@gmail.com References Balamurugan R, Stalin A, Ignacimuthu S. Molecular docking of -sitosterol with some targets related to diabetes. Eur J Med Chem. 2012; 47: 38-43. Kim KH, Gaisina I, Gallier F, Holzle D, Blond SY, Mesecar A, Kozikowski AP. 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