Aqueous extract of Solanum macrocarpon Linn leaves abates hyperglycaemia and expression of glucose transporters gene in alloxan-induced diabetic rats.

PURPOSE In this study, antihyperglycaemic and level of gene expression of glucose transporters in alloxan-induced diabetic rats administered aqueous extract of S. macrocarpon leaves were assessed. METHOD AND RESULTS Diabetes was induced by a single intraperitoneal (I.P) injection of freshly prepared alloxan. The animals were divided into six groups, euthanized on the fourteenth day of the experiment and different hyperglycaemic parameters were evaluated. Administration of different doses of the plant extract significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the fasting blood glucose level, glycated haemoglobin, serum lipid profiles, lipid peroxidation, and glucose-6-phosphatase. There was a significant (p < 0.05) increase in liver glycogen content, antioxidant enzyme activities, hexokinase activity, and expression of glucose transporter genes (GLUT-2 and GLUT-4) in diabetic rats administered different doses of S. macrocarpon. CONCLUSION It can be concluded that the aqueous extract of S. macrocarpon leaves could be helpful in the management of diabetes mellitus and its metabolic complications.