Zingiber officinale (ZO), commonly known as ginger, has been traditionally used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Several studies have reported the hypoglycaemic properties of ginger in animal models. The present study evaluated the antihyperglycaemic effect of its aqueous extract administered orally (daily) in three different doses (100, 300, 500 mg/kg body weight) for a period of 30 d to streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. A dose-dependent antihyperglycaemic effect revealed a decrease of plasma glucose levels by 38 and 68 % on the 15th and 30th day, respectively, after the rats were given 500 mg/kg. The 500 mg/kg ZO significantly (P, 0·05) decreased kidney weight (% body weight) in ZO-treated diabetic rats v. control rats, although the decrease in liver weight (% body weight) was not statistically significant. Kidney glycogen content increased significantly (P,0·05) while liver and skeletal muscle glycogen content decreased significantly (P,0·05) in diabetic controls v. normal controls. ZO (500 mg/kg) also significantly decreased kidney glycogen (P,0·05) and increased liver and skeletal muscle glycogen in STZ-diabetic rats when compared to diabetic controls. Activities of glucokinase, phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase in diabetic controls were decreased by 94, 53 and 61 %, respectively, when compared to normal controls; and ZO significantly increased (P,0·05) those enzymes' activities in STZ-diabetic rats. Therefore, the present study showed that ginger is a potential phytomedicine for the treatment of diabetes through its effects on the activities of glycolytic enzymes.
Diabetes is defined as a chronic hyperglycemia which should be countered by the effective, safe and readily available hypoglycemic agents. Herbal is among alternatives that has been used by society for years but lacks of documented evidences. Tinospora crispa (TC) is enriched by phytochemicals which potentially reduce blood glucose thus is useful for diabetic patients. This study aimed to investigate the potency of TC inreducing blood sugar and body weight. It involved 30 healthy rats divided into 5 groups namely: normal control, normal fed with TC extract, diabetic, TC-treated diabetic (dose 500 mg/kg w/w), and vitamin E-traeted diabetic rats (60 IU). The body weight and fasting blood glucose were measured each week for 1 month. The administration of TC extract 500 mg/kg (w/w) helps to maintain body weight in diabetic rats and reduce the fasting blood glucose. TC is highly potent as hypoglycemic agents therefore needed to be explored further.
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