Evaluation of protective action of fenugreek, insulin and glimepiride and their combination in diabetic Sprague Dawley rats

The present study was conducted to assess the effect of fenugreek, insulin and glimepiride alone and their combination in diabetic rat liver. Fifty six male Sprague dawley rats of uniform age were randomly divided into seven groups. Group 1: Non-diabetic control; Group 2: Streptozotocin (40 mg/Kg i/p single dose)-induced diabetic control; Group 3: Insulin (4 U/kg once daily for 8 weeks) treatment in diabetic rats; Group 4: Glimepiride (4 mg/Kg orally once daily for 8 weeks) treatment in diabetic rats; Group 5: Fenugreek seed powder treatment (1 g/kg orally once daily for 8 weeks) in diabetic rats; Group 6: Insulin + Fenugreek seed powder treatment (once daily for 8 weeks) in diabetic rats; Group 7: Glimepiride + Fenugreek seed powder treatment (once daily for 8 weeks) in diabetic rats. Livers were collected at the end of experiment for histopathology and estimation of reduced glutathione (GSH), thiobarbituric acid reacting substances (TBARS), protein carbonyls, glutathione S-transferase (GST), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), Na(+)/K(+) ATPase and Mg(2)+ ATPase, cytochrome P(450) (CYP) and glycogen. There was an increase in the concentration of TBARS and protein carbonyls, and decrease in the concentration of GSH and glycogen, and the activity of GST, G6PD, Na(+)/K(+) ATPase and Mg(2)+ ATPase in diabetic livers, while treatment groups showed significant (P < 0.05) increase in the above parameters. The histology of liver revealed marked changes in diabetic rats and mild changes in combination treatment groups. The treatment with fenugreek, insulin and glimepiride improved the liver parameters in diabetic rats and their combination showed a beneficial effect on liver.