Abstract:
Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt (Cucurbitaceae) has been popularly used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine for the treatment of diabetes mellitus in Sri Lanka. The present study was to investigate the long term effect of aqueous leaf extract of C. grandis on serum/blood glycemic parameters and regenerative potential of islet cells in the pancreas of streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced in rats by injecting them with streptozotocin (65 mg/kg, ip). Group one and two served as the healthy untreated, diabetic untreated control rats and received distilled water. Group three and four were diabetic rats, received the optimum effective dose of C. grandis (0.75 gm/kg) and glibenclamide (0.50 mg/kg) daily for 30 days. There was a statistically significant decrease in the percentage of glycosylated hemoglobin together with a concomitant increase in the concentrations of serum insulin and C-peptide in plant extract and glibenclamide treated diabetic rats (p<0.05). The β-cell regeneration in C. grandis extract treated diabetic rats was noted through an increase in the percentage of insulin secreting β-cells and an increase in islet profile diameter (p<0.05). The findings of the present investigation helps to scrutinize the therapeutic benefits of the C. grandis extract in the management of diabetes mellitus in traditional medicine.
