Evaluation of a tea bag formulation of Tapinanthus bangwensis (Engl. and K. Krause) Danser leaves, meant for the management of diabetes

Abstract

The incorporation of traditional medicine into the mainstream health care delivery system particularly in some developing countries such as Ghana has resulted in reliable access to herbal medicines and their safe use. This has also led to a surge in the search for herbal alternatives, reformulation, and development of herbal medications in treating and managing diseases such as diabetes. Currently, the surging price of orthodox antidiabetics and their reported adverse effects from long term use has contributed to many Ghanaians switching to the use of phytomedicines as alternatives. The aim of this study is to formulate tea from the leaves of Tapinanthus bangwensis, family Loranthaceae to serve as an additional remedy for the management of diabetes. For standardization, quality control, and authentication of the formulation, FTIR, and HPLC analysis were conducted. The safety profile of the tea via determination of median lethal dose (LD50), microbial load, essential elements and toxic metal contents were also assessed. In addition, the pH, uniformity of mass, total water extractive and optimization of the extraction method were also investigated. The FTIR showed the presence of alcohols, esters, phenols and aromatic compounds. The HPLC fingerprint also showed 23 peaks with the highest peak having a retention time of 15.4 min. The extract also recorded a pH of 7.43 ± 0.02 at 26.1 ◦C and total water extractive of 39.37 ± 0.05 %w/w. The tea passed the uniformity of mass test with an average net mass of 3.0 ± 0.02 g. Optimum extraction of the tea was realised with 250 mL of freshly boiled water. The formulated tea was found to be safe since the determined LD50 was 50 times more than the daily dose. The microbial load, elemental and toxic metal contents were also within acceptable limits. This study has shown the possibility of introducing this tea at a safe dose as an additional herbal remedy for the management of diabetes.