Diabetes is a common metabolic disorder that is specifi ed by hyperglycemia resulting from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action, or both. The use of nonpharmacological treatments (herbal agents) is a new approach in the management of diabetes. The aim of this study was to investigate the eff ect of aqueous extract of alfalfa on blood glucose and serum lipids in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. In this study, 32 female rats (210-250 g) were used which were divided randomly into 4 groups including intact control group, diabetic control group, and 2 diabetic groups which received 250 and 500 mg/kg doses of aqueous extract of alfalfa, respectively. In the diabetic groups, alloxan-monohydrate was injected peritoneally to create diabetic condition. The two last groups orally received aqueous extract of alfalfa for 21 days. At the end of experiment, sugar, cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density and low-density lipoprotein, and aspartate aminotransferase (ALT) and alanine aminotransferase (AST) levels were measured in the samples. Consumption of aqueous alfalfa extract signifi cantly reduced glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels in the diabetic rats but enhanced high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels. ALT and AST liver enzyme levels were also reduced in blood. Histological examination showed that the aqueous alfalfa extract caused reconstruction of damaged liver and enhanced Langerhans islets' diameter in pancreas. Therefore, all signs of diabetes were improved by oral administration of alfalfa in defi ned dose.
These results suggest that aqueous alfalfa extract revealed significant effects on blood lipids and glucose levels in diabetic rats and might be useful in prevention and treatment of diabetes. However, further studies are needed to determine the exact impacts of those effects.
Manganese is an essential metal in human that functions in many enzymes. In contrast excessive exposure to Mn results in neurotoxicity. Accumulation of manganese damages central nervous system and causes Parkinson disease like syndrome called manganism. Mn neurotoxicity has been suggested to involve an imbalance in catecholamine neurotransmitters. It hypothesized that Mn can obstruct catecholamine synthesis pathway by inhibition of Tyrosine hydroxylase. Previous studies demonstrated that chronic and acute dose of Mn has different possible effects on catecholamine synthesis. It's assumed that an acute dose of manganese can kill dopaminergic cells. Therefore, we focused the effect of Mn in catecholamine concentration on the rat's brain by MnCl 2 injection intraperitoneally and analyzed their brains after the time interval. This study used different acute doses in short time courses and different chronic doses at different exposing times to investigate which of them (exposing dose or time) is more important in Mn toxic effect. Measurement of catecholamine concentration performed by fluorescence assay in acidic and oxidant environment.
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