Prevention of type 2 diabetes induced by high fat diet in the C57BL/6J mouse by two medicinal plants used in traditional treatment of diabetes in the east of Algeria

Aim of the studyThe preventive effect of the hydro-alcoholic extracts of Artemisia herba-alba Asso (AHA), and Centaurium erythraea Rafn (CE), two medicinal plants used in traditional treatment of diabetes in the north-eastern Algeria, were evaluated in animal models of type 2 diabetic induced with a standardised high fat diet (HFD).Materials and methodsPlant extracts were administered orally by gavage at a dose of 2 g/kg bodyweight daily for 20 weeks to male C57BL/6J mice fed HFD. Animals were weighed and plasma glucose measured weekly and insulin at the end of study using standard ELISA methods.ResultsAfter 6 weeks, blood glucose levels increased in HFD control mice. At end of study (20 weeks) in groups treated with AHA or CE extracts vs. HFD control group there was a significant reduction in mean (±SD) fasting blood glucose (respectively 108.0 ± 42.0 and 120.4 ± 45.1 vs. 183.1 ± 19.1 mg/dl, p < 0.05), triglyceride concentrations (26.9 ± 6.7 and 27.9 ± 17.8 vs. 48.9 ± 12.1 mg/dl, p < 0.05) and serum insulin levels (1.1 ± 1.0 and 0.6 ± 0.7 vs. 3.1 ± 1.8 ng/ml, p < 0.05). Plant extracts also markedly reduced insulin resistance as measured by the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) compared to HFD controls (AHA: 4.4 ± 5.3, CE: 3.0 ± 3.3 vs. HFD control 38.3 ± 26.6, p < 0.05). The plant extracts had no effect on calorie intake or body weight.ConclusionAHA had been shown to have a hypoglycaemic effect in diabetes but this is the first demonstration of a preventive effect of AHA and CE on HFD-induced diabetes.

Graphical abstractExtracts of Artemisia herba-alba or Centaurium erythraea opposed the effects of high fat diet on plasma glucose, insulin and triglycerides in C57BL mice, in line with traditional use to treat diabetes in man in Algeria.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide