Abstract
Objective: To explore the hypo-glycemic and hypo-lipidemic potential of aqueous extract of Emblica Officinalis (EO) pulp in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats with comparing to gliclazide as an anti-diabetic drug Method: Type-2 diabetes (T2D) was caused in adult male Wister rats (150-1808) by a sole intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of STZ (40 mg/kg), 15 min after the injection (i.p.) of nicotinamide (230 me/kg). After induction of T2D status, the rats were split into five groups (n=8) as follow: non-diabetic (ND), T2D (D), diabetic received gliclazide (10 mg/kg bw)(DG), diabetic received EO extract (200 mg/kg/d), diabetic received EO extract (400 mg/kg/d). Next 8 weeks, body weight, fasting serum glucose, serum insulin, and glycohemoglobin (HbA1c) quantities were estimated, with the calculation of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Moreover, the lipid profile and some biomarkers of oxidative stress were also measured. Results: Remarkable increases in serum blood glucose, HbA1c, serum insulin and total cholesterol (T-Ch), triglycerides (TG), and Low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C) levels, in addition to a significant decrease in weight gain %, were detected in T2D rats. Treatment with both doses of EO notably (p <= 0.001) reduced the elevated levels of all previous parameters in T2D rats. Furthermore, the EO doses showed also considerable (p <= 0.001) reduction in HOMA-IR values in T2D rats. The remarkable reduction was observed in the malondialdehyde (MDA) level with increment in reduced glutathione (GSH) values in treated groups by two EO extract doses. The EO both dose showed significant decreases ((p <= 0.05) in serum insulin, T-Ch, TG, LDL, and MDA concentrations compared to the gliclazide treated group, however, there was a remarkable increase in (p <= 0.01) serum GSH level. Conclusion: The EO pulp aqueous extract is effective in ameliorating hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, and hyperlipidemia in T2D rats and it was dose-independent. However, both EO extract doses used confirmed better than the gliclazide drug. This recommends an obviousanti-diabetic capability of the EO pulp extracts refers to their polyphenolic constituents.