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Objective: To assess the antidiabetic effect of Opuntia dillenii seed oil on rats with diabetes mellitus. Methods: A rat diabetes model was established by intraperitoneal injection of rats with 50 mg/kg streptozotocin. Thirty albino Wistar rats were divided into five groups: the diabetic control group and normal control group were treated only with distilled water, two diabetic groups received 1 and 2 mL/kg of oil per day, respectively, for 30 days and one diabetic group received 2 mg/kg of glibenclamide. In addition, blood glucose was determined weekly. Body weight, average daily food, water intake and urinary volume of each animal were determined before and after the treatment period. After the treatment period, hepatic glycogen was determined using the anthrone reagent, and glycosuria, total cholesterol, triglycerides, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, urea, creatinine and uric acid were estimated using common clinical diagnostic kits. Results: Oral intake of the oil at 1 and 2 mL/kg for the diabetic animals significantly diminished blood glucose, glycosuria, total cholesterol, triglycerides, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, urea, creatinine and uric acid, accompanied by a noticeable elevation in the amount of hepatic glycogen in comparison with the diabetic control group. Similarly, Opuntia dillenii seed oil significantly increased the food intake and decreased the urinary volume per day in treated rats of the same groups in comparison with the period before the treatment intervention and attenuated body weight loss in the diabetic rats. Moreover, this effect of the oil was dose dependent. On the other hand, the oil did not affect their need for water. Conclusions: The results show that Opuntia dillenii seed oil has a very important antidiabetic effect on streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Hence, we suggest it as a preventive control of diabetes mellitus.
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Objective: To investigate the hepatoprotective effect of Opuntia dillenii seed oil (ODSO) on CCl
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Medical plants play an important role in the management of diabetes mellitus especially in developing countries where resources are meager. This review presents the profiles of plants with hypoglycaemic properties, reported in the literature from 1990 to 2000. The profiles presented include information about the scientific name, family, methodology used, the degree of hypoglycaemic activity and the active agents. The large number of plants described in this review [176 species belonging to 84 families] clearly demonstrated the importance of herbal plants in the treatment of diabetes. It also shows the effort to isolate new potential antidiabetic agents. The plant families, including the species [sp], most studied for their confirmed hypoglycaemic effects include: Leguminoseae [11 sp], Lamiaceae [7 sp], Liliaceae [8 sp], Cucurbitaceae [7 sp], Asteraceae [6 sp], Moraceae [6 sp], Rosaceae [6 sp], Euphorbiaceae [5 sp] and Araliaceae [5 sp]. The most studied species are: Citrullus colocynthis [Opuntia streptacantha Lem. [Cactaceae], Trigonella foenum greacum L. [Leguminosea], Momordica charantia L. [Cucurbitaceae], Ficus bengalensis L. [Moraceae], Polygala senega L. [Polygalaceae], and Gymnema sylvestre R. [Asclepiadaceae]. Many studies have confirmed the benefits of medicinal plants with hypoglycaemic effects in the management of diabetes mellitus. The effects of these plants may delay the development of diabetic complications and correct the metabolic abnormalities. Moreover, during the past few years some of the new bioactive drugs isolated from hypoglycaemic plants showed antidiabetic activity with more efficacy than oral hypoglycaemic agents used in clinical therapy