Chronic diabetes complication peripheral neuropathy

The roots of S. oblonga have been extensively used for the treatment of diabetes in the Ayurvedic system of traditional Indian medicine. From the ethyl acetate soluble portion of the methanolic extract from the roots of S. oblonga Matsuda et al. isolated compound (14), a friedelane-type triterpene [42]. The methanolic extract and the ethyl acetate soluble portions were found to show inhibitory activity on aldose reductase, which is related to chronic diabetes complications such as peripheral neuropathy, retinopathy and cataracts. Compound (14) was assayed for aldose reductase rat lens inhibitory activity. It showed inhibition percentages of 21.8 % at a concentration of 30 pM and 48.2 % at a concentration of 100 pM. The activity of (14) and other terpenoids isolated from this plant could prove to be the reason for the popular use of the plant in the Ayurvedic system for the treatment of diabetes. 

Patients with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are at high risk for the development of chronic complications. Diabetes-specific microvascular pathology in tlie retina, renal glomerulus, and peripheral nerve produces retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy. As a result of these microvascular complications, diabetes is the most frequent cause of new cases of bfindness in the industrialized world in persons between 25 and 74 years and the leading cause of end-stage renal disease.Diabetes is also associated with a marked increase in atherosclerotic macrovascular disease involving... 

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