Background:
Corrigiola telephiifolia Pourr, is a perennial species, woody distributed
throughout the north of Africa. This plant is used in traditional Mediterranean preparations and has
many traditional uses especially treatment of diabetes.
Aim/Methods:
The current research was carried out to evaluate the antidiabetic effect of Aerial Parts of
Aqueous Extract (APAE) of Corrigiola telephiifolia (C. telephiifolia) on both normal and streptozotocin
(STZ)-induced diabetic rats treated at a dose of 5 mg/kg for fifteen days. Additionally, the histopathological
changes in the liver, morphometric analysis, Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) in normal
rats and preliminary phytochemical screening for various components were realized.
Results:
Single oral administration of the APAE of C. telephiifolia (5mg/kg) showed no significant
change in glycaemia of normal and STZ-induced diabetic rats. In contrast, repeated oral administration
of C. telephiifolia reduced blood glucose levels from 4.11 ± 0.10 mmol/L to 3.16 ± 0.16
mmol/L (p<0.01) 15 days after administration in normal rats. Furthermore, blood glucose levels decreased
from 17.84 ± 1.75mmol/L to 1.93 ± 0.33 mmol/L (p<0.0001) in STZ diabetic rats after fifteen
days of treatment. According to the oral glucose tolerance test, C. telephiifolia (5 mg/kg) was
shown to prevent significantly the increase in blood glucose levels in normal treated rats 30 min after
glucose administration when compared to the control group. Also, the liver architecture of diabetic
rats treated by C. telephiifolia was improved when compared with the liver architecture of untreated
diabetic rats. Concerning the preliminary phytochemical screening of C. telephiifolia, several
compounds have been found such as polyphenols, flavonoids, saponins, mucilage and terpenoids.
Conclusion:
The results show that the aqueous extract of C. telephiifolia possesses significant antihyperglycemic
activity.
Confirmatory studies on the antioxidant and antidiabetic effect of quercetin in rats
