Antihyperglycemic Effects of Bombax malabaricum Extracts in Alloxan-Induced Diabetic Rats

Bombax Malabaricum is a medicinal shrub used in conventional therapy for a number of diseases including diabetes mellitus. The aim of the present study was to investigate the antihyperglycemic effects of aqueous and ethanol extracts of Bombax Malabaricum in alloxan induced diabetic and normal rats. Rats were administered 100 and 200 mg/kg of aqueous and ethanol bark extracts and 20 mg/kg glibenclamide po. The doses applied caused no acute toxicity or behavioral changes in study animals. Blood glucose was determined at 0, 1, 3 and 5 h (normal rats) and on days 0, 1, 3 and 5 (diabetic rats) after treatment. Various doses of extracts significantly (p≤0.05) reduced the level of hyperglycemia in both normal and alloxan induced diabetic rats. The effects of ethanol extracts on glucose tolerance tests were significant (p≤0.05) and the hypoglycemic effects were pronounced from 30 to 180 min after treatment