Abstract

Introduction

In Indian Hindu culture, Aegle marmelos leaf are used as general rejuvenation tonic in sickness and increases appetite. It is used to increase appetite in case of anorexia. Thus, the Aegal folia mother tincture was tried upon the 10 provers and their oral glucose tolerance test (GTT) was done. The number of provers were ten.

Hypothesis: 1. Anorexia is relieved and hunger is felt due to hypoglycaemia. 2. The Aegle marmelos leaves in traditional medicine relieves anorexia. 3. So Aegle marmelos leaves will cause hypoglycaemia and Aegle folia Q homoeopathic medicine prepared from Aegle marmelos leaves will also cause hypoglycaemia.

Objectives:

1. To determine the hypoglycaemic effect of Aegle folia Q

Methodology: Prospective, quasi – experimental study done on healthy individuals by oral glucose tolerance test.

Result analysis:

            The blood sugar variations were statistically analysed  by student’s  t-test and found at initial level of F.B.G., the probability in t-test where P is greater than 0.05, t = 1.8841 showed that F.B.G. in both control and experimental group was not at all significant in their difference. That implied both control and experimental group did not differ. Thus the chance occurrence in changes of control and experimental group were eliminated.

            At half an hour GTT and two hours GTT, P value was greater than 0.05, t = 2.1014 (in ½ an hour GTT) and t = 2.0846(in 2 hours GTT). So both the groups did not differ significantly.

            But 1hour and 1& ½ an hour GTT of both the control and experimental group, P is lesser than 0.01, t = 3.6269(in 1hour GTT) and t = 3.4797 (in 1& ½ an hour GTT) which shows highly significance difference during 1hour and 1& ½ an hour. In RS case, the ganglion in her hand was cured while experimenting with Aegle folia mother tincture. The case Miss B. S. responded pretty well by reducing blood sugar up to 50 mgs who was pre-diabetic, fatty and having family history of diabetes mellitus.

Key words: Aegle folia Q, hypoglycaemia, oral glucose tolerance test (GTT), anorexia, paired t – test.

Abbreviations: glucose tolerance test (GTT), fasting blood glucose (FBG)

Introduction

Aegle marmelos leaves are the traditionally used leaves to increase the appetite, to sooth the liver and gastrointestinal system in case of jaundice due to viral hepatitis in Orissa. This cultural based medication stimulated me to hypothesize that probably the Aegal marmelos leaves have affinity not only to stimulate liver but also to stimulate pancreas by which anorexia is relieved by hypoglycaemia and patient feels hungry. Thus I wanted to test the homoeopathic medicine Aegle folia mother tincture which is made from Aegle marmelos leaves to test its hypoglycemic effect. So to ascertain the action of Aegle folia mother tincture, human experimentation with the oral glucose tolerance test was decided to be done after the review of literature.

Review of the Literature

Recent edition of William Boericke’s Materia Medica shows the Aegle marmelos and Aegle folia proving by Dr P. P. Biswas ⁽¹⁾ as follows:

First prover: Dr P. P. Biswas.

Natural order: Rutaceae

Clinical: Bleeding piles; diarrhoea; dysentery; fever with dropsy, impotency.

Mind: Commits mistakes in spelling.

Head: Headache appears at 4-8 p.m.; heat in the vertex appears in the evening which is better by eating.

Face: Flushes of heat from face and eye and ear too, which disappears after eating.

Respiratory system: Catarrh; bronchitis; pneumonia; cough.

Dropsy: Dropsy of the any part of the body; upper part of the eye lid swollen; dropsical swelling due to heart diseases. Excellent medicine in beri beri.

Pulse: Full, strong and irregular, which is characteristic.

Gastrointestinal symptoms: Indigestion; abdominal colic; piles; constipation. There is no desire for food; anorexia; waterbrash from the mouth; disorder of the stomach; flatulence; wind comes out with loud noise, worse in the afternoon; amoebic and bacillary dysentery.

Urinary symptoms: Urine decreased considerably; patient feels slight pain in the back and lumber region, which is worse in the afternoon.

Male sexual symptoms: Sexual impotency.

Skin: Itching; ringworms.

Fever: Used in influenza when the fever is continued type, chronic fever associated with hepatic and splenic disorders.

Potency of choice: Mother tinctures, 3x, 6, 30, 200.  

        After study of this proving I did not find any clinical symptom of hypoglycaemia but I find the symptom of anorexia. So to relieve anorexia it might be causing either vagal stimulation and/or hypoglycaemia by stimulating liver and/or pancreas for glycogenesis and increasing catabolism through glycolysis. So the study was done to ascertain the effect of Aegle folia mother tincture’s action on pancreas by GTT test.

Materials and methods:

Prospective, double blind quasi – experimental study on healthy individuals by oral glucose tolerance test.

1. The medicine, Aegle folia, was procured from a reputed homoeopathic company at Cuttack, Orissa stockist.

2.  The 50% alcohol was also procured.

3. Glucose from the trade name Glucon-D was purchased from the market which contains dextrose and vitamin D.

4. A standard pathological laboratory was chosen for biochemical test.

5. The investigation was carried out by me at cuttack while I was in holidays leave.

The students and ex-students of Cuttack Homoeopathic Medical College participated in the clinical trial. The number of provers were ten. They were:

1.Miss SSR, aged 22 years, weight  41 Kg.Height-4fts. and 11inches.

2.Miss BS, aged 21 years, weight 61 Kg.Height-5fts. and 2inches.

3.Miss RS, aged 22years, weight 58Kg.Height-5fts.

4.Miss L, aged 23 years, weight 51 Kg.Height-4fts. and 11inches.

5.Miss PD, aged 22 years, weight 51 Kg.Height-5fts. and 1inch.

6.Miss MH, aged 22 years, weight 58 Kg.Height-5fts.

7.Mr. UN, aged 25 years, weight 46 Kg.Height-5fts.and 2inches.

8.Dr KPK, aged 27 years, weight 62 Kg.Height-5fts and 4inches.

9.Dr SKM, aged 28years, weight 42 Kg.Height-5fts and 3inches.

10.Dr SKM2, aged 39 years, weight-74 Kg. Height-5fts and 8 inches.

Since, Aegle folia mother tincture is a plant product which leaf is taken in auspicious occasion and festival in hindu mythology, no side effect is expected. Moreover, it is already a proven drug and the provers in our experiment have given the verbal consent for the above clinical proving.

First of all, fasting blood glucose test of all provers was done and then they were given 10 drops of 50% ethyl alcohol mixed in 75grams of glucose solution and GTT test was done in every ½ an hour intervals after taking glucose drink as control. Then after 7 days, FBG test was done for all provers and they were given the 10 drops of Aegle folia mother tincture mixed in 75grams of glucose solution and their FBG test and GTT test was done in every ½ an hour interval after taking glucose drink as experimental group. Then the result between control and experimental group was compared and contrasted as follows:

Comparision of the results between control group and experimental group.

Control group result:

Serial No.	Name	FBG	½ hour GTT	1hour GTT	1 and 1/2 an hour GTT	2hour GTT
1	Miss SSR.	78	164	121	114	100
2	Miss BSS.	108	178	164	157	124
3	Miss RS.	93	143	131	118	100
4	Miss L.	78	164	128	114	107
5	Miss PD.	71	135	114	107	92
6	Miss MH.	71	142	135	121	100
7	Mr. UN.	83	100	108	133	91
8	Dr KPK	92	121	135	121	85
9	Dr SKM.	72	92	107	125	85
10	Dr SSM.	85	100	142	114	78

Experimental group result:

Serial No.	Name	FBG	½ hour GTT	1hour GTT	1&1/2 an Hour GTT	2 hour GTT
1	Miss SSR.	93	143	131	118	100
2	Miss BSS.	107	178	114	100	85
3	Miss RS.	85	157	107	92	85
4	Miss L.	81	137	118	100	87
5	Miss PD.	81	143	125	106	87
6	Miss MH.	87	131	112	106	93
7	Mr. UN.	76	92	100	115	84
8	Dr KPK	94	106	112	100	87
9	Dr SKM.	76	92	100	107	84
10	Dr SSM.	84	100	115	107	92

Discussion:

        In control group, in all the lady provers, the highest GTT peak was found in ½ an hour test whereas in all the gentlemen the highest GTT peak was found in 1hour test. The same pattern is also observed in experimental group.

There was although lot of variation in fasting blood glucose (FBG) in both control and experimental groups not exceeding the normal range but statistically the variation were not significant. This signifies before intervention, FBG of both control group and experimental group do not vary.

 There are definite variation experimental group with that of control in peaks of ½ an hour, 1 hour, 1 and ½ an hour and 2 hour GTT of  both in the ladies and gentlemen provers except Miss. PD.

            In case of RS, there was initially rise of blood sugar in ½ an hour GTT test in experimental group than control but soon there was rapid decline in blood sugar than control in 1 hour GTT test. Moreover, a accidental discovery occurred in case of Miss. RS that her neurofibroma of hand disappeared.

            In case of Miss B. S., who was fatty having weight 63 kg, and was detected as prediabetic having GTT peak (control) >160mg/dl. with the parenteral history of diabetes mellitus, there was marked reduction of blood sugar level in experimental group over control, justifying the action of Aegal folia mother tincture upon the diabetes mellitus.

            The blood sugar variations were statistically analysed  by t-test and found at initial level of F.B.G., the probability in t-test where P is greater than 0.05, t = 1.8841 shows that F.B.G. in both control and experimental group is not at all significant in their difference. That implies both control and experimental group do not differ. Thus, the chance occurrence in changes of control and experimental group are eliminated.

            At half an hour GTT and two hours GTT, P value is greater than 0.05, t = 2.1014(in ½ an hour GTT) and t = 2.0846(in 2 hours GTT). So both the groups do not differ significantly.

          But 1hour and 1 and ½ an hour GTT of both the control and experimental group, P is lesser than 0.01, t = 3.6269(in 1hour GTT) and t = 3.4797 (in 1& ½ an hour GTT) which shows highly significance difference during 1hour and 1& ½ an hour.

Conclusion: Hence, the efficacy of the pilot study of this experimental trial of Aegle folia mother tincture allows us for further study on diabetes mellitus patient to prove its efficacy in reducing blood sugar level which is well known traditionally (Indian culture-based traditional medicine) liver, and nerve tonic acts in probably on pancreas and man as a whole. Thus an experimental trial on minimum 30 subjects can be done and/or clinical trial on patients with mild diabetes mellitus with pre-test and post test study can be done as per sampling size calculation.

Reference:

1. 2007. Pocket Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica & Repertory. New Delhi: B. Jain Publishers (P) Ltd., pp.1048, 1049.

About Author:

By: Prof.  Dr S. S. Moharana, M.D.(Hom), M.A., M.F.Hom. (Malaysia)

HOD, Department  of Repertory, Yenepoya  Homoeopathic Medical College & Hospital,  Naringana, Karnataka State. INDIA.

&

Mr. K. D. Sahoo, EX – Director of Statistics and Economics, Odisha