Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Depanmenr of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt
2
Depanment of Pharmacology, University of Jordan, Amman 11942, Jordan
3
Depanment of Pharmacology, Al-Isra University, Amman, Jordan
Abstract
The ethanol extracts of three plants used for folkloric treatment of diabetes mellitus in the Middle East: Salvadora persica L (bark and wood), Savine (Juniperus sabina L.) (aerial parts), Asofetida (Ferula foetida L) (oleo-gum-resin) were administered orally in dose 300 mg/kg body weight to normal and streptozotocin (S1Z)-induced diabetic mice. The blood serum glucose, total cholesterol and triglycerides levels were measured spearophotometrically two hours ofter administration of plant extracts. Intraperitoneal administration of S1Z (120 mg/kg body weight) induced hyperglycemia (121.8±10.9 versus 83.5±5.2 in control, p < 0.01), hypercholesterolemia(147.0±12.8 versus 110.1±8.0 in control, p < 0.05), and hypertriglyceridemla (163.3±8.6 versus 98.9±5.4 in control, p < 0.001). Savine extract reduced blood serum glucose level in S1Z-diabetic mice (56. 7±5.0, which is 67.9% of control level, p < 0.001) but not in normal mice. In contrast, total cholesterol serum level was decreased by Savine in normal (108.9±10.3, which is 75.6% of control level, p < 0.05), but not in diabetic animals. Salvadora persica (wood) extract produced hypoglycemia only in normal mice (65.6±6.2, which is 64.5% of control level, p < 0.01). Neither of plant extracts caused significant changes in triglycerides levels. The preliminary phytochemical screening of Savine extract showed the presence of carbohydrates and/or glycosides, sterols and/or triterpenes, volatile oil, tannins and flavonoids as the main active constituents in addition to traces of alkaloids. The results support the use of Savine in patients with diabetes mellitus and indicate its potential usefulness as a cholesterol-lowering drug.
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