THE EFFECT OF ETHANOLIC EXTRACT OF SOLANUM DUBIUM IN GLUCOSE INTRA-PERITONIALLY LOADED RATS (in-vivo) AND GLUCOSE UPTAKE IN ISOLATED RAT HEMIDIAPHRAGM (in-vitro)

ABSTRACT:Thirty westar albino rats of either sexes weighing 120gm to 250gm were divided into five groups to test three different doses of ethanolic extract of solanum dubium for its blood glucose lowering activity in comparison with glibenclamide as a positive control and distilled water as a negative control group. Blood glucose in the rats was evaluated in the first, second and fourth hour. The first and second hour the extract lowered blood glucose level potently to a decrement value of 25% in comparison to 17% decrement in the group administered glibenclamide. At the fourth hour the extract showed no effect on blood glucose level, nevertheless, it start rising, the fact that reveals it as a short acting drug. Using rat hemidiaphragm to check the potential of solanum extract in enhancing re-uptake of glucose by tissues, it showed good synergistic activity when administered with insulin.Key words: solanum dubium, glibenclamide, ethanolic, hypoglycemic, hemidiaphragm