Investigation of the hypoglycemic effects and mechanisms of capparis ovata var. palaestina in mice

Diabetes mellitus (DM), which is characterized especially with hyperglycemia, is a chronic metabolic disease that is caused by dysfunction of insulin secretion and/or the effect of insulin on the targeted tissues, and is followed by disorders of carbohydrate, lipid and protein metabolism. In order to develop an alternative treatment approaches for DM which is fast spreading disease in the world, the potential hypoglycemic effect and the effects against DM complications of unstudied plant Capparis ovata var. palaestina was studied. For this purpose, water, ethanol and methanol extracts of buds and fruits of previously mentioned plant were prepared. Twenty-one animal group involving female BALB/c mice were assigned to our study. Positive and negative control groups (glibenclamide and saline) and a healthy control group were formed as well as groups receiving doses of 100, 300 and 500 mg / kg of ethanol, methanol and aqueous extracts. Following the formation of diabetes mellitus with alloxane in all groups beside the healthy control group, the extracts were administered intraperitoneally (i.p.) at the indicated doses. Fasting blood sugar was measured from the tail vein at 0, 1, 2, 4 and 6 hours before and after the administration of all animals. For each extract, determination of anti-inflammatory activity by using heat induced heamolysis of HRBC, determination of antioxidant activity by using DPPH and ABTS free radical scavenging assay, and determination of total amount of flavonoid and phenolic substances were analyzed. In each extract, the quantitative determination of active ingredient which is "rutin" was performed by using HPLC method. Furthermore, microbial activities of all extracts were compared by using agar well diffusion test and minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) test. At the end of our study; hypoglycemic effect of fruit-methanol (500mg/kg; 6th hours) and bud-methanol extracts (300mg/kg; 6th hours, 500mg/kg; 4th-6th hours) and fruit-aqueous (100mg/kg; 1st-2nd hour, 300mg/kg; 1st-2nd-4th-6th) and bud-aqueous (500mg/kg; 1st-2nd-4th-6th hours) extracts has been detected in diabetic mices. Antioxidant tests which performed on the extracts show significant hypoglycemic effect on mices were also showed significant antioxidant activity. It is thought that the hypoglycemic effect of aqueous and methanol extracts of buds and fruits of Capparis ovata var. palaestina in diabetic mice may be related to the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of these extracts. Especially, antioxidant activity is the common point for these extracts. In addition, investigation of effective compounds excluding rutin, obtained from the extracts, is thought to be fruitful for elucidating the hypoglycemic effect. It is also thought that the antimicrobial activity of the extracts, which is detected as a result of our study, may be a reason for hypoglycemic effect and can be used for prevention of diabetic complications.