Hypoglycemic and Biochemical Effects of some Medicinal Plant Extracts on Alloxan Induced Diabetic Rats

Hypoglycemic and biochemical effects of some mixed medicinal plant extracts were tested on alloxan diabetic rats. The studied extracts were a mixture of Ambrosia maritima, Trigonella-foenum Graecum, and Centraurium - Spicatum, (extract 1), Lupinus albus, Nigella sativa and Gum arabbia (extract II) and Aloe-Ferox and Peganum-harmala (extract III). The hypoglycemic activity of the plant extracts was compared with the hypoglycemic effect of the synthetic drug substance repaglinide [NovoNorm tablets 2 mg repaglinide (Novo Nordisk)]. Male albino rats of the Sprague-Dowely strain weighing about 100 gram were used in the present study and blood samples were collected at zero time (before treatment) and then after 6, 12 and 24 hours from treatment. Blood samples were subjected to biochemical analyses such as blood glucose, liver function, kidney function and lipid profile. Extract 1 exhibited the higher hypoglycemic activity, while extracts II and III induced the lower hypoglycemic activity. The abnormal increase in the mean values of creatinine, urea, aspartate-aminotransferase (AST), alanine-aminotransferase (ALT), triglycerides (TG) and total cholesterol in the induced diabetic rats was greatly improved by each of the three plant extracts.