Anti-diabetic activity of Shilajatvadi Lauha, an Ayurvedic traditional herbo-mineral formulation

Context: Shilajatvadi Lauha (SL) is used in Ayurveda as Indian traditional medicine for treating diabetes mellitus. Aims: To explore the anti-diabetic potential of SL in nicotinamide-streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. Materials and Methods: SL (10, 30, and 100 mg/kg) and glibenclamide (10 mg/kg) were orally administered once daily to diabetic rats for 14 days. Blood glucose, plasma insulin, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TGs), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), and very LDL-C (VLDL-C) were examined. Results: SL significantly lowered the blood glucose without any hypoglycemic effect on their control counterparts, which was comparable to that of the standard anti-diabetic drug, glibenclamide. SL also showed reduction in the levels of TC, TGs, LDL-C, VLDL-C, but it increases the levels of plasma insulin and HDL-C in diabetic rats. Conclusions: SL possesses anti-diabetic and anti-hyperlipidemic activities in Type 2DM rats, which seems to scientifically validate its traditional uses and might be a promising drug in the therapy of diabetes mellitus and its hyperlipidemic complications.