Abstract
The Leucas plant is used as a folk remedy to treat diabetes in India. The objective of our study was to evaluate the effect of the leaves and stem of Leucas aspera on blood glucose level in normoglycemic rats and diabetic rats. Animals were divided into eight groups of six rats each.4 of the groups (n=24) were induced diabetes with streptozotocin. The group treated with gum acacia served as control.Rats were treated with metformin (200mg/kg), and Leucas alcoholic extract at doses of 200mg/kg and 400mg/kg respectively. All the animals were treated with drugs orally as suspensions in gum acacia, daily for 15 days. Blood glucose levels were measured on day 0, just prior to initiation of any treatment i.e. fasting and at time intervals of 30,60 and 120 mins after drug administration Fasting blood samples were collected 24 hrs after drug administration on day 7 and day 15. Administration of the plant extract did not show any reduction in blood glucose level in normal and diabetic rats with single dose administration study on day 0.There was an increase in levels at intervals of 30 and 60 min. Upon chronic administration the extract showed significantly reduced FBS levels, and was comparable to the reference drug metformin. The alcoholic extract of leucas aspera has shown hypoglycemic activity in chronically treated normoglycemic and diabetic rats which could merit its role in treatment of diabetes mellitus.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1046-1050 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Pharmacologyonline |
| Volume | 3 |
| Publication status | Published - 01-12-2011 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Pharmacology
- Drug Discovery
