EVALUATION OF ANTIDIABETIC AND ANTIHYPERLIPIDEMIC ACTIVITY OF METHANOLIC ROOT EXTRACTS OF WITHANIA SOMNIFERA, BOERHAAVIA DIFFUSA AND THEIR COMBINATION IN DEXAMETHASONE INDUCED DIABETIC RATS

Diabetes mellitus is one of the major public health problems throughout the world. Current therapies, especially synthetic drugs, often fail to bring back normal glycemic control without complications. Numerous herbal medicines are widely explored as alternative medicine in diabetes. The objective of this work was to evaluate the antidiabetic activity of such herbal extracts of roots of Withania somnifera, Boerhaavia diffusa, and their combination in experimentally induced diabetic rats. Both plants are well known for their potential medicinal activities. The two plant extracts and their combination at a dose of 200 mg/kg/day were administered to dexamethasone-induced insulin-resistant animals for 10 consecutive days. Blood glucose levels, lipid profiles, and body weights were measured for the evaluation of their anti-diabetic effect. MEWS (p<0.05), MEBD (p<0.01), and their combination (p<0.001) showed a significant decrease in blood glucose levels in diabetic rats. In addition, both the extracts (p<0.05), (p<0.01), (p<0.05) (p<0.05) and their combination (p<0.01), (p<0.001), (p<0.001), (p<0.01) showed significant decrease in serum triglycerides, total cholesterol, VLDL levels, and an increase in HDL levels respectively. The combination (p<0.01) showed a significant decrease in LDL levels, whereas the individual extracts have no significant difference. The combination of MEWS and MEBD showed a significant (p<0.01) increase in body weight in diabetic rats. Our study indicates that MEWS, MEBD, and their combination have a promising effect in controlling blood glucose levels and also aid in counteracting the derangement of lipid profile, a major concern in diabetes mellitus.