title: Anti-diabetic effects of Cichorium intybus in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.
abstract: The present study was designed to investigate the hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic properties of an ethanolic extract of Cichorium intybus (CIE) which is widely used in India as a traditional treatment for diabetes mellitus. Male Sprague-Dawley rats aged 9 weeks (160-200 g) were administered with streptozotocin (STZ, 50mg/kg) intraperitoneally to induce experimental diabetes. The Cichorium intybus whole plant was exhaustively extracted with 80% ethanol, concentrated at 40 degrees C using a rotavapor and freeze dried to get powder. Hypoglycemic effects of CIE were observed in an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in which, a dose of 125 mg of plant extract/kg body weight exhibited the most potent hypoglycemic effect. Moreover, daily administration of CIE (125 mg/kg) for 14 days to diabetic rats attenuated serum glucose by 20%, triglycerides by 91% and total cholesterol by 16%. However, there was no change in serum insulin levels, which ruled out the possibility that CIE induces insulin secretion from pancreatic beta-cells. In addition, hepatic glucose-6-phosphatase activity (Glc-6-Pase) was markedly reduced by CIE when compared to the control group. The reduction in the hepatic Glc-6-Pase activity could decrease hepatic glucose production, which in turn results in lower concentration of blood glucose in CIE-treated diabetic rats. In conclusion, our results support the traditional belief that Cichorium intybus could ameliorate diabetic state.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119260, Singapore. phspnp@nus.edu.sg
authors.forename: P N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Pushparaj
authors.forename: H K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Low
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Manikandan
authors.forename: B K H
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Tan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D018651:Cichorium intybus / Q000737:chemistry*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D005952:Glucose-6-Phosphatase / Q000032:analysis; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D008687:Metformin / Q000494:pharmacology; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts; D014280:Triglycerides; D008687:Metformin; D002784:Cholesterol; D005952:Glucose-6-Phosphatase