Hoan Ngoc Activity in Streptozotocin- induced Diabetic Mice

Abstract

Introduction: Hoan Ngoc (Pseuderanthemum palatiferum (Nees) Radlk. Ex Lindau) is a plant commonly found in Vietnam that is popular in Thailand for treatment of diabetes. However, there is less scientifc evidence regarding its hypoglycemic activity. Materials and Method: This study investigated the hypoglycemic activities of an aqueous solution extracted from Hoan Ngoc leaves in 4 groups of streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice, and 2 control groups, 1 of streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice treated with insulin and 1 of streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice treated with distilled water. Results: The results revealed that blood sugar level was slightly decreased in two groups of mice treated with 0.25 and 0.5 g of Hoan Ngoc extract per kg body weight. And Hoan Ngoc extract showed distinct hypoglycemic effect in diabetic mice at 1.0 g per kg body weight dosage and did kill 50% of them in 3 days.  On the other hand, mice treat with 0.1 g per kg body weight dosage did not show any blood glucose lowering activity. Interestingly, blood glucose level of mice treated with insulin was unsignifcantly decreased and those mice died 33% within 7 days. And the distilled water-treated group did not show any change in their blood glucose level and these mice also died 33% within 3 days. Conclusion: The study showed that Hoan Ngoc solution exhibited resulted in anti-diabetic activity in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice and may toxicity in high dose.