Comparison of Anti-Diabetic Activity of Berberis lycium Royle Stem bark (Barberry) and Pioglitazone in Type 2 Diabetes Induced Mice Model

Abstract

Objective: To compare the anti-diabetic activity of aqueous extract of stem bark of Berberis lycium Royle and Pioglitazone –a thiazolidinedione in a type 2 diabetes mellitus induced male mice model.
Material and Methods: This Randomized control trial was carried out in the animal house of National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad for 10 weeks. Fifty albino Balb/C male mice were divided randomly into groups I-V (10 in each group). Group I served as normal control group. In rest of the forty mice from group II-V, type 2 diabetes mellitus was induced by administration of high fat diet (HFD) for two weeks followed by low dose (40 mg/kg) intra-peritoneal Streptozotocin (STZ) injections for four consecutive days. Group II served as the disease control group, group III received the aqueous extract of stem bark of Berberis lycium Royle in dose of 50 mg/kg body wt. while group IV received the aqueous extract of stem bark of Berberis lycium Royle in dose of 100 mg/kg body wt. Group V was administered Pioglitazone in a dose of 30mg/kg body wt. The herb extract and the drug was given orally once a day for six consecutive weeks. Samples were taken at the end of ten weeks.
Results: The blood samples estimated for fasting blood glucose (FBG) & glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c %) levels showed that the aqueous extract of stem bark of Berberis lycium Royle in a high dose (100 mg/kg body wt.) maximally lowered the FBG and HbA1c% levels followed by its low dose (50 mg/kg body wt.) Pioglitazone also reduced the FBG and HbA1c% to normal limits but its extent was less than the aqueous extract of stem bark of Berberis lycium Royle.
Conclusion: The aqueous extract of stem bark of Berberis lycium Royle lowers the FBG and HbA1c levels in a type 2 diabetes induced male mice in a dose dependent manner.