: The effects of some drugs and medicinal plants on diabetes mellitus experimental clinical study

Atherosclerosis is the disease with syndromes of presentation comprise the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in the world including ischemic heart diseases and cerebrovascular ischemia. In an attemp to evaluate agents for their antiatherogenic activities, blood pressure, lipid profiles, platelet function and free radicals were measured in both atherosclerosis induced rabbits (fed with 3% cholesterol for 10 weeks) and normal human subjects. Retinal vessels ophthalmoscopy,, ECG and autopsy histopathological findings were additional parameters that had been monitored in rabbits throughout 90 days of treatment. Simvastatin, MgSO4, Artemisia vulgaris, acetic acid, thymus vulgaris, soybean oil, meprobamate and fluoxetine in comparison with distilled water treated group and induced untreated rabbits. MgSO4 and meprobamate caused significant chronic lowering of mean arterial blood pressure in human and rabbits, P < 0.05. MgSO4, acetic acid, meprobamate and fluoxetine showed considerable antiplatelet activity in that both human and rabbit platelet count and adhesiveness had significantly decreased after treatment, P < 0.05; however, soybean oil exhibited significant antiplatelet activity only in rabbit model while thyme caused a decrease in platelet count of human subjects. Serum lipid profiles in term of atherogenic index, serum cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL and LDL concentrations were markedly influenced by treatment with these agents. Apart from control groups, all tested agents showed significant serum cholesterol lowering effect in both studies with maximum potency was for thyme in the rabbit model (regression coefficient r = -8.583) and a decrease in human serum cholesterol level from 146 to 100 mg/dl at P < 0.01. MgSO4, acetic acid, soybean and meprobamate exhibited significant reduction in rabbit and human serum triglycerides. Thymus vulgaris had the highest regression coefficient value (r = -3.256) in rabbits whereas MgSO4 revealed the lowest significant value (r = -0.907).
Only MgSO4 and fluoxetine caused a significant rise in serum HDL of the rabbits (r = 0.085 for MgSO4 and 0.239 for fluoxetine) and human (from 27 to 32 mg/dl for MgSO4 and from 26 to 30 mg/dl for fluoxetine). Thyme and simvastatin showed significant increase only in rabbits. Simvastatin and MgSO4 had even elevated rabbit serum LDL concentration, P < 0.05. on the other hand, soybean showed a significant serum LDL lowering activity in rabbits (r = -0.213) and human (from 76 to 67 mg/dl). Thymus vulgaris showed the highest LDL reducing effects in rabbits (r = -2.306), P < 0.05. All of the used investigational agents exhibited significant blood free radicals reducing activity at P < 0.01 in both studies. Apart from simvastatin and fluoxetine, all the tested agents caused significant left graphic shift in grades of severity of rabbit retinal vessels atherosclerosis, P < 0.05. Simvastatin, MgSO4, Artemisia vulgaris, acetic acid, Thymus vulgaris, soybean oil and meprobamate had exhibited significant atherolytic effects in term of improvement in phases of rabbit aortic artery atheroma P < 0.05. In general, the results confirm effeciency of MgSO4, thyme, soybean oil and meprobamate as antiatherogenic agents while Artemisia vulgaris and acetic acid came second as compared with potency of simvastatin.