ANTIDIABETIC ACTIVITY OF ASYSTASIA GANGETICA (L.) T. ANDERSON FLOWER EXTRACT IN STREPTOZOTOCIN INDUCED DIABETIC RATS

Objective: Asystasia gangetica has long been used in the antiasthmatic medicinal preparations of traditional healers Nigeria of South Africa, in India the plant is being used for treating diabetes and microbial infections. The present study was evaluated for antidiabetic activity of A. gangetica flower ethanol extract (AGFEE) in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats.Methods: Diabetes was induced by 45 mg/kg STZ and after STZ induction; the hyperglycemic rats were treated with the extract orally at the dose 250 mg/kg body weight daily for 45 d. Antidibetic activity measured by blood glucose, insulin, hemoglobin, glycosylated hemoglobin levels. The oxidative stress was measured in liver and kidney by level of antioxidant markers i.e. lipid peroxidation (LPO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathioneperoxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT) vitamin C and vitamin E and the lipid profile were also studied.Results: The extract produced significant reduction in blood glucose level and increase insulin level as compared with the diabetic rats and also reduced total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and increased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels in STZ-diabetic rats. It also significantly obliterated the increase in the levels of GPx, SOD and CAT activities in both liver and kidney. The levels of vitamin C and vitamin E were significantly augmented in extract treated diabetic rats in comparison with control group.Conclusion: This study concludes that the antidiabetic effect of AGFEE proved the folkloric use for various treatments. Further investigations on identification and characterization of the active compounds to carried out