Antihyperglycemic Effect of an Important Phytocompound - Phloretin on Streptozotocin Induced Diabetes: An Experimental Study

Aim: To investigate the antihyperglycemic effect of phloretin on streptozotocin induced diabetic rats.

Materials and Methods: Diabetes mellitus was induced in adult male albino rats of Wistar strain weight ranges between 180-200 g by intraperitoneal administration of streptozotocin (STZ) (60 mg/kg b.w). Phloretin was administered orally to diabetic rats at two different doses like 25 and 50mg/kg b.w. The antidiabetic potential of phloretin was evaluated by analyzing the changes in body weight, blood glucose, total hemoglobin, glycosylated hemoglobin, insulin, liver glycogen and carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes like hexokinase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glucose-6-phosphatase and fructose-1, 6-bisphosphatase in the experimental rats.

Results: Diabetic rats showed increased level of glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin and decreased level of body weight, serum insulin, hemoglobin and liver glycogen. Increased activities of gluconeogenic enzymes such as glucose-6-phosphatase and fructose-1, 6-bisphosphatase and decreased activities of hexokinase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase were observed in diabetic rats. The phloretin treated diabetic rats showed significantly reduced level of blood glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin and significantly increased level of body weight, serum insulin and liver glycogen. The altered activities of key enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism were significantly reverted to near normal in phloretin administered diabetic rats.

Conclusion: The present findings suggest that phloretin may be useful in the treatment of diabetes mellitus and confirmed its antihyperglycemic effect mediated through the regulation of carbohydrate metabolic enzyme activities.