Investigation of Hypoglycemic Effects of Sonchus oleraceus (Moleta) in Normal Albino Rats

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate the hypoglycemic effects of ethanolic and hexane extracts of Sonchus oleraceus in normal albino rats using fasting blood glucose and glucose tolerance tests. About 200 g leaves of S. oleraceus were macerated in 2 liters of hexane for two days, filtered and evaporated to dryness. Sixty albino rats were divided into six groups. Negative control group received water (5ml) and the positive control group administered by glibenclamide (5 mg/kg) which is known to increase insulin release from pancreatic β- cell. Four test groups received two doses (150 and 300mg/kg) of hexane extract and hydroethanolic extract of S. oleraceus leaves. Hydroethanolic extract (150, 300 mg/kg) produced insignificant reduction in blood glucose level (P-value = 0.2492, 0.1345), while hexane extract showed significant reduction (P-value = 0.001) in fasting blood glucose, moreover, hexane extract showed a significant reduction in blood glucose level when using the glucose tolerance test (P-value = 0.3173, 0.0305). It was evident that S. oleraceus leaves revealed significant hypoglycemic effects thus, it could be used as a dietary supplement for type two diabetic patients