Hypoglycemic Action of Seed Kernel of Caesalpinia bonducella Fleming In Normal and Alloxan- Induced Diabetic Albino Rats
G Sarma, S Das
Keywords
alloxan, diabetes mellitus, ethanolic extract, hypoglycemic effect
Citation
G Sarma, S Das. Hypoglycemic Action of Seed Kernel of Caesalpinia bonducella Fleming In Normal and Alloxan- Induced Diabetic Albino Rats. The Internet Journal of Pharmacology. 2008 Volume 6 Number 2.
Abstract
The aim of the present study is to evaluate the hypoglycemic action of ethanolic extract of seed kernel of
Sources and Support
Animals: Central Animal House, A.M.C.H., Dibrugarh, Assam.
Drugs & Equipment: Department of Pharmacology, A.M.C.H, Dibrugarh.
Introduction
Diabetes mellitus is a major endocrine disorder affecting nearly 10% of population all over the world 1 . According to the world ethnobotanical information reports, almost 800 plants may possess antidiabetic potential. In the past decade, research has been focused on scientific evaluation of traditional drugs of plant origin and screening of more effective and safe hypoglycemic agents has continued to be an important area 2 .
Materials And Methods
Plant material and extraction
The seeds of
The seed kernels of
Animals
Healthy adult Wistar albino rats
Acute toxicity study
Acute oral toxicity test for the ethanolic extract of seed kernel of
One–tenth of the upper bound dose of the extract from the limit test was decided to be considered for the experiments 11 .
Chemicals used
Crude powder of glibenclamide was obtained from Aventis Pharma Ltd., Goa while alloxan monohydrate was purchased from Sigma Aldrich India, Bangalore. The glucose kit for blood glucose estimation was obtained from Sigma Diagnostic (India) Pvt. Ltd., Baroda.
Study of hypoglycemic effect in normal rats
Three groups of animals (six in each) were divided as follows: Group–A : Normal Control. Received normal saline, 10 ml/kg/d orally. Group–B : Test Drug. Received EESKCB, 200 mg/kg/d orally. Group–C : Standard Drug. Received glibenclamide, 0.5 mg/kg/d orally 13 .
All the rats were kept fasting for 18 hours with free access to water before the experiment. Blood samples were collected from the orbital sinus of rats 14 for glucose estimation at ‘0’ min before drug administration and also at ‘120’ min after the above treatment. Blood glucose estimation was done by glucose oxidase method 15 using a glucose kit.
Experimental design for antidiabetic study
A total of thirty animals were equally divided into four groups with six animals in each group:
Group–A : Normal Control. Received normal saline, 10 ml/kg/d.
Group–B : Diabetic Control. Received normal saline, 10 ml/kg/d.
Group–C : Diabetic Test. Received EESKCB, 200 mg/kg/d.
Group–D : Diabetic Standard. Received glibenclamide, 0.5 mg/kg/d.
The above drugs were administered orally, once daily, for two weeks.
Induction of diabetes
Leaving aside six rats for Normal Control Group, 24 rats were induced diabetes by a single intraperitoneal injection of alloxan monohydrate in the dose of 150 mg/kg body weight. The fasting blood glucose was determined after 72 hours. Only 18 rats showing blood glucose level greater than 200 mg/100 ml were taken for the study 17 .
Blood glucose was estimated every week for two consecutive weeks. Blood glucose estimation was done by glucose oxidase method. During the experimental period, the rats were weighed on day ‘0’ and day ‘15’ of the experiment and the change in body weights was compared 18 .
Probable mechanism of antidiabetic action
Glycogen estimation of liver, skeletal muscle and cardiac muscle 19 : Out of 30 rats, 24 rats were induced diabetes by alloxan monohydrate (150 mg/kg body weight) intraperitoneally and 18 rats with blood glucose level greater than 200 mg/100ml were taken after 72 hours of diabetes induction. All the rats were kept fasting for 18 hours before the experiment. The rats were divided into four groups with six animals in each, as before.
Group–A : Normal Control. Received normal saline, 10 ml/kg/d.
|Group–B : Diabetic Control. Received normal saline,10 ml/kg/d and alloxan.
Group–C : Diabetic Test. Received EESKCB, 200 mg/kg/d and alloxan.
Group–D : Diabetic Standard.Received glibenclamide, 0.5 mg/kg/d and alloxan.
After two hours of administration of above drugs. The animals were killed by decapitation. The liver, leg muscle and heart tissues were taken out with care and their glycogen content was estimated by use of Anthrone reagent.
Effect on adrenaline-induced hyperglycemia
The rats were divided into three groups with six animals in each as before.
Group–A : Normal Control. Received normal saline, 10 ml/kg/d.
Group–B : Test Drug. Received EESKCB, 200 mg/kg/d.
Group–C : Standard Drug. Received glibenclamide, 0.5 mg/kg/d.
The above drugs were administered orally after drawing fasting blood samples. Adrenaline hydrochloride 100 g was administered intraperitoneally to all the rats one hour after drug administration. Blood samples were again collected half an hour later.
Statistical analysis
The data was statistically analysed using One-way ANOVA 21 followed by Dunnett’s multiple comparison test 22 . The body weights of the rats before (on ‘0’ day) and after (on 15 th day) drug administration were compared using Student’s ‘t’ test (Paired) 23 . The statistical analysis was done using computerised GraphPad Prism software version 5.00. Values of
Results
Acute Toxicity Test
There was no mortality recorded among the rats upto the maximum dose of 2000 mg/kg (three consecutive animals survived at 2000 mg/kg). Hence, the LD50 can be said to be above 2000 mg/kg.
Effect on fasting blood glucose level
The data was statistically analysed using One-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett’s multiple comparison test.
Normal Rats: A significant (
Legend for Table-1:
Values are expressed as Mean ± SEM; n=6 rats in each group. One-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett’s multiple comparison test was done. * p<0.05 when compared to Normal Control Group.
Diabetic Rats
Legend for Table-2:
Values are expressed as Mean ± SEM; n=6 rats in each group. One-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett’s multiple comparison test was done. * p<0.05 when compared to Normal Control Group. † p<0.05 when compared to Diabetic Control Group.
Effect on changes in body weight
The body weights of the rats before (on ‘0’ day) and after (on 15 th day) drug administration were compared using Student’s ‘t’ test (Paired).
The final body weight showed significant (p<0.05) increase from the initial body weight in all the groups except in Diabetic Control Group, in which there was significant (p<0.05) decrease in body weight compared to the initial body weight (Table–3).
Legend for Table-3:
Values are expressed as Mean ± SEM; n=6 rats in each group. One-way ANOVA followed by Student’s t-test (Paired) test is done. * p <0.05 when compared to the Initial body weight.
Effect on glycogen estimation
The data was statistically analysed using One-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett’s multiple comparison test.
There was a significant (
Legend for Table-4:
Values are expressed as Mean ± SEM; n=6 rats in each group. One-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett’s multiple comparison test was done. * p<0.05 when compared to Normal Control Group. † p<0.05 when compared to Diabetic Control Group.
Effect on adrenaline-induced hyperglycemia
The test drug and the standard drug significantly (
Legend for Table-5:
Values are expressed as Mean ± SEM; n=6 rats in each group. One-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett’s multiple comparison test was done. * p<0.05 when compared to the Normal Control Group.
Discussion
From the study, it was seen that EESKCB significantly (
Alloxan, a β-cytotoxic agent, rapidly and selectively accumulates in pancreatic β-cells and causes β-cell death and apoptosis by generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), superoxide radicals and hydrogen peroxide 2526 . β cell death causes hyperglycemia due to insulin deficiency which further aggravates the oxidative stress induced by alloxan 27 .
The antidiabetic activity of the seed kernel of
The effect of EESKCB on body weight reduction in alloxan-induced diabetic rats is statistically significant (p<0.05) in this study. Loss of body weight is one of the symptoms of diabetes 34 . This loss of body weight in diabetes is due to increased lipolysis and increased muscle wasting and loss of tissue proteins caused by insulin deficiency 35 . EESKCB, due to the insulin-like and insulin releasing action of its ingredients, probably prevented this lipolysis and proteolysis by ameliorating the extent of insulin deficiency and thereby caused an increase in body weight.
Insulin is a potent activator of the enzyme glycogen synthase while inhibiting the enzyme glycogen phosphorylase responsible for glycogenolysis in liver and muscle 36 . Insulin deficiency in diabetes, as such, results in reduced concentrations of glycogen in liver and muscle. EESKCB caused an increase in glycogen concentration of the liver probably by stimulating the enzymes glycogen synthase and hexokinase, both of which contribute to increase glycogen synthesis 37 . The increase in liver glycogen may also have been brought about by inhibition of the enzyme glucose-6-phosphatase leading to accumulation of glucose-6-phosphate, which allosterically inhibited the enzyme glycogen phosphorylase 38 . Diminished phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI-3K) activation in diabetes as a result of insulin deficiency has been reported to be associated with impaired skeletal muscle glycogen synthase enzyme 39 . EESKCB due to the insulin-like action of its ingredients probably increased PI-3K activation leading to stimulation of muscle glycogen synthase. The increase concentration of glycogen in skeletal and cardiac muscle also might be due to increased expression and translocation of GLUT-4 glucose transporters as a result of increased PI-3K activation, leading to increased peripheral uptake of glucose 24 .
Adrenaline produces hyperglycemia by inhibiting insulin release, stimulating glycogenolysis in muscle and thus providing substrate in the form of lactate for hepatic gluconeogenesis, stimulating glucagon secretion and stimulating ACTH secretion which, in turn, stimulates glucocorticoid secretion from the adrenal cortex 40 . It has also been reported that adrenaline produces hyperglycemia by increasing glucose uptake from both the large and small intestine 41 . The test drug significantly (p<0.05) reduced the adrenaline induced hyperglycemia probably by inhibiting adrenaline induced stimulation of α2 receptors in β-cells of pancreas and thus promoting further insulin release 42 .
Conclusion
Thus, the hypoglycemic and antidiabetic effect of EESKCB may be partly due to its positive effect on glycogen synthesis in liver, skeletal muscle and heart muscle due to the insulin-like action of its constituents, and partly due to the stimulatory action on insulin release by blocking the α2 receptors in β-cells of pancreas. However, further studies to isolate the active principle of
Correspondence to
Gayatri Sarma, Department of Pharmacology, Assam Medical College & Hospital, Dibrugarh-786002. Phone: +919435043164. E-mail: dr.gayatrisarma@yahoo.co.in