Department of Biochemistry, University of Madras, Guindy Campus, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India.
J Diabetes. 2012 Mar;4(1):41-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-0407.2011.00145.x.
Most of the currently available oral hypoglycemic drugs for the treatment of diabetes mellitus elicit detrimental side effects. Hence, the search for plant-derived products for the treatment of diabetes continues. Gossypin, a pentahydroxy flavone glucoside found in the flowers of Hibiscus vitifolius, has many biological properties, including as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer agent. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of gossypin in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced experimental diabetes in rats.
Diabetic rats were administered 20 mg/kg per day gossypin orally for 30 days. On the 28th day, rats were subjected to an oral glucose tolerance test. In addition, blood glucose, plasma insulin, hemoglobin, and HbA1c levels were determined, as was the glycogen content of the liver and muscles. Plasma protein and blood urea were also estimated.
Oral administration of gossypin to diabetic rats resulted in improved glucose tolerance. Increased blood glucose and HbA1c levels and the reduced plasma insulin and hemoglobin levels in diabetic rats were significantly reversed to near normal after oral administration of gossypin. Furthermore, the glycogen content of the liver and muscles was significantly improved after gossypin treatment of diabetic rats, and plasma protein and blood urea levels were almost normalized. The data obtained in gossypin-treated rats were comparable with those obtained following gliclazide treatment of rats, a standard reference drug for diabetes.
The results of the present study indicate that gossypin has potent antidiabetic activity in STZ-induced experimental diabetes in rats.
目前大多数用于治疗糖尿病的口服降糖药物都有不良的副作用。因此，人们继续在植物来源的产品中寻找治疗糖尿病的方法。棉子糖是存在于黄蜀葵花朵中的一种五羟基黄酮葡萄糖苷，具有许多生物学特性，包括抗氧化、抗炎和抗癌作用。本研究旨在评估棉子糖对链脲佐菌素（STZ）诱导的实验性糖尿病大鼠的作用。
糖尿病大鼠每天口服 20mg/kg 棉子糖，连续 30 天。第 28 天，大鼠进行口服葡萄糖耐量试验。此外，还测定了血糖、血浆胰岛素、血红蛋白和 HbA1c 水平，以及肝脏和肌肉的糖原含量。还估计了血浆蛋白和血尿素。
给糖尿病大鼠口服棉子糖可改善葡萄糖耐量。口服棉子糖可显著逆转糖尿病大鼠的高血糖和 HbA1c 水平以及降低的血浆胰岛素和血红蛋白水平，使其接近正常。此外，棉子糖治疗糖尿病大鼠的肝脏和肌肉糖原含量显著改善，血浆蛋白和血尿素水平几乎正常化。棉子糖治疗大鼠的结果与糖尿病标准参考药物格列齐特治疗大鼠的结果相当。
本研究结果表明，棉子糖对 STZ 诱导的实验性糖尿病大鼠具有显著的降血糖作用。
