Study the Effect of Teucrium Polium L. Aerial Parts Extract on Normal and Alloxan-Induced Diabetic Mice.

number: 
2647
English
Degree: 
Imprint: 
Biotechnology
Author: 
Mushtaq Mufleh Khazeem
Supervisor: 
Dr. Khulood W. Al-Sammarrae
Dr. Shahlaa M. Salih
year: 
2011
Abstract:

Herbal medicine is a growing area of health care that demands attention. Plants have played a significant role in maintaining human health and improving quality of human life for thousands of years, and have served human as valuable components of medicines (Al-Mudhaffar, 2009). World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that around 80% of the earth's inhabitants rely on traditional medicine for their primary health care needs, and most of this therapy involves the use of plant extracts or their active components (Al-Ali, 2008). This is reasoned by the fact that medicinal plants have advantages (low cost and less side effects) over the conventionally used drugs, which are expensive and known to have harmful side effects (Ateyyat et al., 2009). Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder featured by hyperglycemia and alteration in carbohydrate, fat, and protein metabolism associated with absolute or relative deficiency of insulin secretion and/or insulin action (Kameswara et al., 2003). Although numerous oral hypoglycemic drugs exist alongside taking insulin, still there is no promising therapy to cure diabetes (Sumwa and Suryawarshi, 2001). Diabetes mellitus is now taking place as a serious health care problem in the 21st century. The number of people suffering from diabetes is expecting to increase from 150 millions actually to 220 millions in 2010 and 300 millions in 2030. This explosive increase has already imposed a huge burden on health-care systems and this will continue to increase in the future (Eddouks et al., 2009). Over the last few decades the reputation of herbal remedies has increased globally due to its therapeutic efficacy and safety. In recent years, numerous traditional medicinal plants were tested for their antidiabetic potential in the experimental animals (Srivastava et al., 1993). There are more than 1200 plants species worldwide that are used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus and a substantial number of plants have shown effective hypoglycemic activity after laboratory test. The medicinal plants provide a useful source of oral hypoglycemic compounds for the development of new pharmaceutical leads as well as a dietary supplement to existing therapies (Pandey, 2010). One of these traditional hypoglycemic herbs is Teucrium polium (Gharaibeh, et al., 1988; Baluchnejadmojarad, et al., 2005) which belongs to Labiatae family. The aqueous extract of the dried aerial parts of T. polium is used traditionally to treat diabetes in Southern Iran and some middle east populations. For reasons mentioned above the present study was designed to evaluate the positive and negative effects of aqueous and methanol extracts of T. polium as a hypoglycemic drug for treatment of diabetes mellitus using normal and experimental alloxan-induced diabetic mice as animal model for study. Parameters of evaluation were: Chemical analysis of T. polium extracts include chemical detection of phenols, flavonoids, tannins, glycosides, saponins, terpenes, and steroids in addition to detection of some flavonoids using thin layer chromatography technique. Biochemical assay to (some enzymes associated with liver function include (GOT, GPT, and ALP), Blood glucose level, and total serum protein). Histopathological study to determine histopathological effect of Teucrium polium extract on liver of treated mice. Immunological aspects include (Total and absolute counts of leucocytes, and total serum immunoglobulin level).