ABSTRACT
Aavirai Kudineer (AK) is an herbal decoction of seven botanical drugs, cited in the Gunapadam; a Tamil Siddha medical text. The anti-diabetic efficacy of this formulation was evaluated using alloxan-induced diabetic and normal rats. Glucose tolerance was observed within 1 hr in AK-treated rats (10 ml/kg body ) as compared to control. A significant decrease in the severe hyperglycemia characteristic of alloxan diabetes was noted after 15 days of AK treatment. Further AK treatment reversed the elevated urea, creatinine, cholesterol and decreased protein values to near normal levels. Assay of glycogen content and chief carbohydrate-metabolizing enzymes, viz. hexokinase, glucose-6-phosphatase and fructose 1,6 diphosphatase in the liver of diabetic and AK-treated diabetic rats clearly ascertains the hypoglycemic efficacy of this formulation. The mode of action of this herbal formulation remains to be elucidated.
Subject(s)
Animals , Blood Glucose/metabolism , Cholesterol/blood , Creatinine/blood , Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental/blood , Fructose-Bisphosphatase/metabolism , Glucose-6-Phosphatase/metabolism , Glycogen/metabolism , Hexokinase/metabolism , Hypoglycemic Agents/therapeutic use , Male , Phytotherapy , Plant Preparations/therapeutic use , Plants, Medicinal , Rats , Rats, Wistar , Urea/bloodABSTRACT
The insulin-like activity of bis-glycinato oxovanadium (IV) complex on experimental diabetes has been studied. Rats made diabetic with streptozotocin, after one month, were fed ad libitum with bis-glycinato oxovanadium (IV) complex (30 mg/100 ml) for fifteen days. The altered blood glucose, urea, cholesterol, triglycerides, liver glycogen and the activities of liver enzymes such as hexokinase, lactate dehydrogenase and fructose-1, 6-bisphosphatase, were reverted to normal levels in bis-glycinato oxovanadium (IV) complex treated diabetic rats, thereby suggesting for the insulin-mimetic effect of bis-glycinato oxovanadium (IV) in experimental diabetes.
Subject(s)
Animals , Blood Glucose/metabolism , Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental/drug therapy , Glycine/analogs & derivatives , Insulin/pharmacology , Lipids/blood , Liver/drug effects , Male , Rats , Rats, Wistar , Vanadates/pharmacologyABSTRACT
Oral administration of sodium orthovanadate restored blood glucose to normal levels in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. To establish the safety dose and to evaluate the side effects of over dose, if any, different doses of vanadium were used in the present study. Low concentrations of vanadium (0·1 and 0·3 mg/ml in drinking water) restored blood glucose, urea, cholesterol and the status of liver pathophysiological enzymes to normal levels in experimental rats. High vanadate treatment proved to be toxic not only to diabetic but also to normal rats as evidenced from the observations on the blood urea, plasma and liver glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase and glutamate pyruvate transaminase. Low vanadate treatment restored body homeostasis of diabetic rats and was found to be nontoxic to normals.