Effects of aqueous extract of Berberis integerrima root on some physiological parameters in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

ABSTRACT

Diabetes mellitus is a common endocrine disorder. Anti-diabetic agents from natural and synthetic sources are available for the treatment of this disease. Berberis integerrima is a medicinal shrub used in conventional therapy for a number of diseases. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of aqueous extract of Berberis integerrima root [AEBI] on some physiological parameters in normal and streptozotocin-induced [STZ-induced] diabetic male Wistar rats. STZ-induced diabetic rats showed significant increases in the levels of blood glucose, triglycerides [TG], total cholesterol [TC], low density lipoprotein LDL-cholesterol [LDL-C], creatinine [Cr], urea, alanine aminotransferase [ALT], aspartate aminotransferase [AST], alkaline phosphatase [ALP], total bilirubin while body weight, high density lipoprotein HDL-cholesterol [HDL-C] and total protein levels were significantly decreased compared to normal rats. Treatment of diabetic rats with different doses of aqueous extract of Berberis integerrima root [250 and 500 mg/Kg bw] resulted in a significant decrease in blood glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, ALT, AST, ALP, total bilirubin, creatinine and urea while HDL-cholesterol and total protein levels were markedly increased after six weeks compared to untreated diabetic rats. The effects of the AEBI at dose of 500 mg/Kg in all parameters except blood glucose [similar] is more than to the standard drug, glibenclamide [0.6 mg/Kg, p.o.]. The results of this study indicate that the tested aqueous extract of Berberis integerrima root possesses hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic and antioxidant effects in STZ-induced diabetic rats