Hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effect of hydroalcoholic Cynara scolymus L. extract in alloxan monohydrate-induced diabetic rats to compare with glibenclamide

Artichoke with the scientific name of Cynara scolymus is a plant from Compositeae family. In this research, the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of artichoke on the changes of serum glucose, lipids and lipoproteins in alloxan monohydrate-induced diabetic rats was investigated. Also, the effect of extract on damaged pancreatic tissue was investigated and was compared with glybenclamide as a chemical drug. Twenty adult male rats, weighing 200-250 gr, were used in four groups of five each (control, diabetic, diabetic+glibenclamide, diabetic + artichoke extract). The first group (control), received serum physiology equal to injecting material volume. Second group (diabetic), received 120 mg/kgbw alloxan monohydrate. Third group (diabetic + glibenclamide) received 0/5 mg/kg bw glibenclamide in addition to the similar treatment with second group. Fourth group (diabetic + Cynara scolymus) at first, became diabetic by alloxan monohydrate injection, then they received 300 mg/kgbw hydroalcoholic plant extract. Prescribing materials in all groups was done as interaperitoneal injection (IP). The results from statistical analysis show that Cynara scolymus extract reduce significantly the rate of glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, VLDL and LDL than diabetic group (P/0 05). The results of Histologic studies confirmed this part of research. On the base of histologic results, extract have a significant effect on increasing the size of pancreatic islets, number of islet cells and cell proliferation than diabetic group. This research suggested that hydroalcoholic extract of Cynara scolymus has a significant effect on decreasing the blood sugar, serum lipids and lipoproteins than diabetic rats. Also the effect of extract in repairing damaged pancreatic tissue was confirmed.