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Hypoglycemic effects of ginger in mildly and severely diabetic rats
Author(s) -
Thomson Martha,
AlAmin Zainab M.,
AlQattan Khaled K.,
Ali Muslim
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.21.5.a50-b
Subject(s) - zingiber officinale , diabetes mellitus , medicine , streptozotocin , endocrinology , body weight , aqueous extract , traditional medicine
In this study, the hypoglycemic effects of a raw aqueous extract of ginger ( Zingiber officinale ) were studied in mildly and severely diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced in rats by the administration of streptozotocin (60 mg/kg). After one week, fasting serum glucose levels indicated that the diabetic rats could be divided into two groups: mildly diabetic (serum glucose ≅ 200 mg/dl) and severely diabetic (≥ 350 mg/dl). A raw aqueous extract of ginger was administered daily (500 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) for a period of seven weeks to both groups of diabetic rats. Both ginger‐treated diabetic groups showed a significant decrease in serum glucose level during the treatment period when compared to the diabetic control. The normal and treated mildly diabetic rats gained weight similarly while the treated severely diabetic rats nearly maintained their starting weights suggesting that ginger treatment protected the rats against characteristic diabetic weight loss. As for water intake, the treated mildly diabetic rats had a water intake similar to normal rats, while the treated severely diabetic rats increased their water consumption almost 5‐fold over the experimental period similar to diabetic control animals. These results indicate that raw ginger possesses hypoglycemic potential in both mildly and severely diabetic rats. In addition, raw ginger is effective in preventing the weight loss normally observed in diabetic rats. Thus, ginger may be useful in prevention of the progression of diabetes in both mild and severe conditions. This work was partially supported by Kuwait University College of Graduate Studies.