found to have the potential to produce piperine (Chithra et al.2014a). Piperine has
also been reported to possess a wide range of applications because of its antimy-
cobacterial, antihyperlipidemic, antiandrogenic, immunoregulatory, and antitumor
properties (Chithra et al.2014b).
Obesity is also a contributing factor for variety of serious diseases like hyper-
tension, hyperlipidemia, atherosclerosis, and type II diabetes (Birari and Bhutani
2007 ). One of the key enzymes involved in lipid metabolism is pancreatic lipase
(PL) which acts on triglycerides and converts them into glycerol and free fatty
acids. The free fatty acids further increase the level of low density lipoprotein
(LDL) and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) in the blood and ultimately con-
tribute to development of CVDs. Inhibition of PL would decrease the level of LDL
and VLDL and hyperlipidemia is prevented (Sreerama et al. 2012 ; Onakpoya et al.
2015 ). Therefore, PL can be recognized as attractive therapeutic target for man-
agement of hypercholesterolemia and diet-induced obesity. Endophytic fungi have
been identified as promising good source of effective PL inhibitors. Recently, Gupta
et al. ( 2015 ) isolated 70 endophytic fungi and screened them qualitatively using
in vitro screening methods. The PL inhibitory effect of endophyticPenicillium
spp. in their study was comparable with the standard PL inhibitor, Orlistat. Other
studies have also shown the potential PL inhibitory activity of polyphenol-rich
extracts in vitro (Birari and Bhutani 2007 ; McDougall et al. 2009 ). In our lab, we
have isolated, screened, and identified a number of endophytic fungi which could
produce metabolites with antihypercholesterolemic potential. One of our isolates,
obtained fromTerminaliaarjuna and identified as Diaporthe arengae,showed
strong in vitro as well as in vivo antihypercholesterolemic activity. Administration
of the extract ofDiaporthe arengaeat 100 mg kgā^1 body weight dose in rats
showed significant decrease in the levels of serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyc-
erides (TG), very low density lipoproteins (VLDL), and low density lipoprotein
(LDL) cholesterol (unpublished data).
10.4 Antidiabetic Activity of Plants/Plant Extracts
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is characterized by hyperglycemia resulting from either
lack of insulin, or insulin resistance at the cellular level (Haire-Joshu 1996 ). It has
been estimated that 366 million people may be affected by diabetes worldwide by
the year 2030. In India, about 40.9 million people are affected by hyperglycemia
and this number may rise up to 60.9 million by the year 2025 (Maahs et al. 2010 ).
Present diabetes management strategies primarily employ insulin and other syn-
thetic antidiabetic agents like sulfonylureas, biguanides, glinides, etc. Despite
considerable success in diabetes management by these strategies, there is a need for
newer strategies to overcome the limitations of existing compounds (Ghazanfar
et al. 2014 ). It should be noted that diabetes management with minimal side effects
is a challenge before the scientific community (Saxena and Vikram 2004 ). There
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