Abstract

Background: Warionia saharae is a medicinal plant used in the Morocco for the treatment of diabetes mellitus.

Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the effect of the aqueous extract of this plant on blood glucose levels in diabetic rats.

Method: The current study was carried out to investigate the effect of a single dose and daily oral administration for 15 days of the Aerial Part Aqueous Extract (A.P.A.E) of Warionia saharae (W. saharae) at a dose of 5 mg/kg body weight on blood glucose levels and the histopathological changes in liver and pancreas both in normal and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats (STZ). Also, the effect of this extract to improve glucose tolerance in normal rats was demonstrated.

Results: Single oral administration of W. saharae A.P.A.E reduced blood glucose levels 6 h after administration in normal rats and in STZ-induced diabetic rats. Furthermore, blood glucose levels were decreased in normal and STZ-induced diabetic rats after 15 days of treatment. The aqueous extract of W. saharae was shown to improve the increase on blood glucose levels in normal treated rats significantly (p< 0.001) 90 min after glucose administration as compared to the control groups.

Conclusion: In conclusion, the results show that APAE of W. saharae possesses significant antihyperglycemic and hypoglycemic activity.

Keywords: Warionia saharae, streptozotocin, diabetes, aqueous extract, glucose tolerance, antihyper-glycemic activity.