e. from traditional fibre rich diet to sugary

fast food diet and also because of genetic basis. The disorder being chronic in nature needs long term treatment to prevent the complications arising due to persistent high blood click here glucose level. Pharmacotherapy available for the treatment of diabetes in modern healthcare system includes insulin and oral 16 hypoglycemic drugs.24 However due to economic constraints, it is not possible for majority of the diabetic patients in developing countries like India to use these drugs on regular basis. Moreover these synthetic antidiabetic drugs are associated with large number of adverse effects. Hence there is increase in the trend to use traditional indigenous plants widely available in India for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Over 150 plant extract and some of their active principles including flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids etc are used for the treatment of diabetes.25 During the present investigation, alloxan (150 mg/kg i.p) was used to induce diabetes in mice and their serum glucose levels were found to be significantly elevated as compared to normal mice. The increased levels of serum glucose may be due to the partial damage of the pancreatic β-cells. Alloxan, a β-cytotoxin, induces “chemical Diabetes” in a wide variety of animal

species including rats by damaging the insulin secreting β-cells.17 and 26 Similar http://www.selleckchem.com/products/pfi-2.html results reported by Vuksan & Sievenpiper,27 shows that the administration of alloxan significantly increases the level of glucose when compared to control, which might account for the cytotoxic effect of alloxan on beta cells. Alloxan is relatively toxic to insulin

producing pancreatic β-cells because it preferentially accumulates in β-cells through uptake via the GLUT-2 glucose transporter. This cytotoxic action is mediated by ROS source of generation Farnesyltransferase of ROS is dialuric acid, a reduction product of alloxan. These radicals undergo dismutation to H2O2. The action of ROS with a simultaneous massive increase in cytosolic calcium concentration causes rapid destruction of beta cells, thereby decreasing the secretion of insulin, which in turn increases the blood glucose level. Another result of alloxan, a β-cytotoxin, was preferred to produce the diabetic state in mice as it induces diabetes in a wide variety of animal species by damaging the insulin secreting pancreatic beta cell resulting in a decrease in endogenous insulin release, which paves the ways for the decreased utilization of glucose by the tissues.28 On the other hand, treatment of extract (250 mg/kg b.w) for 21 days, the elevated level of serum glucose level was significantly decreased. Our results are similar to previous reports.29 and 30 The antidiabetic activity of aqueous extract of S. cumini may be its promote insulin secretion by closure of K+-ATP channels, membrane depolarization and stimulation of calcium influx, an initial key step in insulin secretion.