Antidiabetic activity of extracts of Pistachia khinjuk on alloxan monohydrate induced diabetic mice

Abstract

Diabetes is spreading all over the world day by day. There are many ways to treat diabetes mellitus which mainly includes synthetic drugs, homeopathic medicine or Unani medicine etc. These Medicines have many side effects. Natural products; which include herbs, shrubs and large plants, cure diabetes mellitus and prove excellent hypoglycemic activity. These herbal medicines have no reported side effects. Many species of family Anacardiaceae show hypoglycemic activity and used from centuries to cure diabetes. Various pistachio species show hypoglycemic activity and have a very long history of herbal remedies. The present study evaluates the hypoglycemic effect of methanolic extract of Pistachia khinjuk. Six groups of Swiss albino mice were made for extract (80:20 Methanol: water) of Pistachia khinjuk and each group contains six albino mice. All the mice were injected alloxan monohydrate except normal group of wax and extract. Group 1 was treated as normal group and receives no treatment, group 2 receive 5mg/kg of glibenclamide after alloxan monohydrate induction, group 3 receive no treatment after alloxan monohydrate induction, group 4 and 5 receive 500 and 250mg/kg of Pistachia khinjuk extract, while group 6 receives 500mg/kg Pistachia khinjuk wax after alloxan monohydrate treatment. All the mice for extract (Pistachia khinjuk) of group 4, 5 and 6 show hypoglycemic activity and decreases blood glucose level. There may be many factors behind this activity which needs more research on it by isolating and analyzing specific secondary metabolites which causes this effect. The methanolic extract due to phenolic constituents proves to be excellent antidiabetic medicine.