Experimental study on effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Emblica officinalis fruits on glucose homeostasis and metabolic parameters

Polyphenols from natural source are potential therapeutics that act alone or supplement anti-diabetic drugs in the prevention and treatment of diabetes. The present investigation was undertaken to study the effect of hydroalcoholic extract (HE) of fruits of Emblica officinalis on type 1 diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced by streptozotocin (STZ) (45 mg/kg i.v.). HE (100 mg/kg, p.o.) was administered for 4 weeks and at the end of treatment, blood samples were collected and analyzed for various biochemical parameters. STZ produced a diabetic state exhibiting all the cardinal symptoms such as loss of body weight, polydipsia, polyuria, glucosuria, polyphagia, hypoinsulinemia, and hyperglycemia associated with hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia. Treatment with HE prevented cardinal symptoms and caused significant decrease in fasting serum glucose, AUC(glucose), cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and very LDL in diabetic rats. However, insulin, AUC(insulin), and serum high-density lipoprotein level were not significantly altered by treatment. Treatment also reduced lipid peroxidation and increased anti-oxidant parameters in the liver homogenates of diabetic rats. Polyphenol enriched fraction of HE significantly improved disarranged carbohydrate and lipid metabolism of chemically induced diabetes in rats. The mechanism of its anti-diabetic activity appears to be either improvement in peripheral glucose utilization, increased insulin sensitivity, or anti-oxidant property.