African Journal of
Pharmacy and Pharmacology

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Pharm. Pharmacol.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1996-0816
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJPP
  • Start Year: 2007
  • Published Articles: 2296

Full Length Research Paper

Effect of Teucrium polium flower extract on the activities of nucleoside diphosphate kinase and acetyl-CoA carboxylase in normal and diabetic rats

Soleiman Mahjoub1,2, Saied Davari2, Zoleika Moazezi3 and Durdi Qujeq2*
1Fatemeh Zahra Infertility and Reproductive Health Research Center, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran. 2Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Faculty of Medicine, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran. 3Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
Email: [email protected]

  •  Accepted: 29 March 2012
  •  Published: 22 April 2012

Abstract

Teucrium polium L. (TP) has been used for the treatment of diabetes, gastric inflammation and convulsion in traditional medicine. The aim of this study was to assess in vivo effects ofaqueous and ethanolic extracts of TP flower on activities of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), nucleoside diphosphate kinase (NDPK), insulin and serum glucose levels in normal and diabetic rats. The experimental animals were randomly distributed among 6 groups of 7 or 8 rats. The treatment groups received 150 mg/kg of alloxan. The rats were fed aqueous and ethanolic extracts of T. polium L. (TP) flower at 500 mg/kg/day doses for two weeks period. Subsequently, glucose, insulin levels, ACC and NDPK activities were measured. The present study showed significantly lower levels of glucose and elevated levels of insulin in the group of rats that was treated with ethanol and aqueous extracts of TP flowers, when compared with alloxan group (p<0.01). The results showed that the TP flower extracts increased the ACC and NDPK activities (p<0.05). The findings suggest that aqueous and ethanolic extracts of TPflower have hypoglycemic effect in alloxan diabetic rats and may be hypoglycemic activity of TP extract attributed increased activity of ACC as glucose sensor for insulin secretion.

 

Key words: Teucrium polium, nucleoside diphosphate kinase, acetyl-CoA carboxylase, diabetes, ethanolic extract, aqueous extract.