title: A hyperglycemic silkworm model for evaluating hypoglycemic activity of Rehmanniae Radix, an herbal medicine.
abstract: Silkworm shows hyperglycemia after intake of diet containing large amount of glucose. The hyperglycemic silkworm model is useful for evaluation of anti-diabetic drugs. A hot water extract of Rehmanniae Radix, an herbal medicine, showed hypoglycemic effect against the hyperglycemic silkworms. This method is applicable for quick and simple evaluation of the hypoglycemic activities of different batches of Rehmanniae Radix. Our findings suggest that silkworms have a lot of merit as experimental animals for evaluation of various herbal medicines.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbiology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo.
authors.forename: Yasuhiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Kazuhisa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sekimizu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D012831:Bombyx / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D055808:Drug Discovery / Q000379:methods*; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007814:Larva / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D032267:Rehmannia / Q000737:chemistry*; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts; D005947:Glucose