title: Anti-diabetic activity of the semi-purified fractions of Averrhoa bilimbi in high fat diet fed-streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.
abstract: The present study was designed to investigate the hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic activities of the semi-purified fractions of an ethanolic leaf extract of Averrhoa bilimbi (ABe) in high fat diet (HFD)-streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats aged 10 weeks (200-250 g) were fed with a high fat diet obtained from Glen Forrest stock feeders (Western Australia) for 2 weeks prior to intraperitoneal injection with streptozotocin (STZ, 50 mg/kg). The leaves of A.bilimbi were exhaustively extracted with 80% ethanol, concentrated at 40 degrees C using a rotavapor and partitioned successively with butanol, ethylacetate and hexane to get aqueous (AF), butanol (BuF), ethylacetate (EF), and hexane fractions (HF). The fractions were freeze-dried to obtain powders of each. To investigate the effect of long term administration of the hypoglycemic fractions, diabetic animals were treated with vehicle (distilled water), AF (125 mg/kg), or BuF (125 mg/kg), twice a day for 14 days. The long term administration of AF and BuF at a dose of 125 mg/kg significantly (P < 0.05) lowered blood glucose and triglyceride concentrations when compared to the vehicle. The hepatic glycogen content was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in AF-treated rats when compared to diabetic control, however no change was found in the BuF-treated rats. Moreover, AF as well as BuF did not cause any significant change in the total cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol. There was also no difference in liver thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and cytochrome P450 values between AF, BuF and vehicle-treated control rats. In conclusion, the results indicate that AF is more potent than BuF in the amelioration of hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia in HFD fed-STZ diabetic rats. Hence, AF is a potential source for the isolation of active principle(s) for oral anti-diabetic therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Benny Kwong Huat
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Chee Hong
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Peter Natesan
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Pushparaj
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D003577:Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System / Q000378:metabolism; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006003:Glycogen / Q000378:metabolism; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000737:chemistry*; D008297:Male; D008862:Microsomes, Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances / Q000378:metabolism; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D004041:Dietary Fats; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances; D014280:Triglycerides; D006003:Glycogen; D003577:Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System; D002784:Cholesterol