Abstract
Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, hyperaminoacidemia, and hypoinsulinemia that leads to reduction in both insulin secretion and insulin action. Several natural products have been isolated and identified to restore the complications of diabetes.
Spirulina
is a naturally occurring freshwater cyanobacterium, enriched with proteins and essential nutrients. Treatment of diabetic rats with crude, aqueous extract, ethanolic extract, and insulin-like protein of
Spirulina
successfully ameliorated diabetic complications by increasing body weight and significantly decreasing the levels of blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin, serum creatinine, serum uric acid, and blood urea nitrogen (
p
< 0.0001). Comparatively, the crude extract and insulin-like protein were found to be more effective than the aqueous and ethanolic extracts.