ABSTRACT

Aim: The present study investigated the effect of Medicago sativa extract and glibenclamide on biochemical parameters in the liver as well as on pancreas tissue in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Methods: Diabetes mellitus was induced in 28 out of 35 adult male albino rats, using an intra-peritoneal injection of 65 mg/kg body weight of alloxan. The diabetic rats were divided into four groups, two of which were administered orally by garlic extract (250 and 500 mg/kg) and a group composed of diabetic rats was given the standard drug, glibenclamide, orally at a dose of 2.5 mg/kg. The control rats (normal and diabetic) were fed normal saline, once daily for 21 d. The specimens were prepared for light microscopic examination. In parallel, the related biomedical parameters such as glucose and insulin levels had been estimated in pancreas, statistically analyzed and compared between the groups. Results: The aqueous extract of M. Sativa significantly reversed (P<0.05) the manifestation of alloxan on the levels of serum glucose & insulin, C-peptide, malondialdehyde formation, Nitric oxide, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase). Histological pictures of pancreas showed pathological changes which was in concurrence with the biochemical results. Conclusion:Extracts of Alfalfa improved hyperglycemia and other biochemical alterations noticed in alloxan-diabetic rats. These effects may be due to the presence of a high content of flavonoids which acts synergistically as antioxidants. Keywords: Diabetes mellitus ; Pancreas; M. Sativa; Glibenclamide.