RESUMO
Objective: Musa Paradisiaca, commonly known as plantains have been traditionally used for various medicinal purposes. In the absence of an ideal drug to alleviate the primary and secondary complications of diabetes mellitus, search for novel drugs without side effects, preferably from plant origin continues. Recently, we have reported the presence of biologically active phytochemicals as well as the hypoglycemic activity of Musa paradisiaca tepals extract in STZ induced experimental diabetes in rats. The present study was aimed to evaluate the role of tepals, an integrated part of Musa paradisiaca flowers on carbohydrate metabolism in hepatic tissues of experimental diabetic rats. Methods: Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats were treated with ethanolic extract of tepals at a concentration of 200mg/kg body weight/day for 30 days. The levels of fasting blood glucose, plasma insulin and glycosylated hemoglobin were estimated. The activities of key enzymes in carbohydrate metabolism such as glucokinase, pyruvate kinase, glucose-6-phosphatase, fructose-1, 6-bisphosphatase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glycogen synthase and glycogen phosphorylase in hepatic tissues were assayed. The levels of glycogen in hepatic tissues were also estimated. Results: Oral administration ofMusa paradisiaca tepals extract significantly improved the altered levels of blood glucose, plasma insulin, glycosylated hemoglobin and modulated the activities of carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes. The glycogen content in hepatic tissues was significantly increased in diabetic rats treated with tepals extract. Conclusions: The results of the present study clearly indicate that the tepals extract plays pivotal role to maintain normoglycemia in diabetes by modulating the activities of carbohydrate metabolic enzymes.