Parthenium hysterophorus is of great medicinal importance. It has been used to cure
fever, malaria, diarrhea, dysentery, and neurologic disorders. It also has anticancer
agents as well. This study evaluates the antidiabetic effects of methanolic extract of all
plant parts of Parthenium hysterophorus in diabetic rabbits (alloxan-induced).
Twenty-five rabbits were divided into 5 groups (N=5). The group I served as a
standard control. Groups II to V were injected with freshly prepared alloxan solution
150mg/kg intraperitoneally to induce diabetes. Glucose levels were checked to ensure
hyperglycemia (diabetes). Group II till V received these treatments. Group II: Alloxan
150mg/kg alone; group III: Alloxan + MEPH (50mg/kg); group IV: Alloxan
+100mg/kg MEPH (100mg/kg); group V: Alloxan +Glucophage (62.5mg/kg)
respectively for a period of 10 days orally via feeding cannula. The safety assessment
of these extracts was carried out in rabbits by oral administration with 50mg/kg,
100mg/kg& 150mg/kg body weight daily for7 days. They remained normal at the
dose of 50g/kg, 100g/kg whereas, they showed anxiety in their behavior at high dose
i.e., 150mg/kg. Changes in the body weight of all animals were recorded on day 1
,
7
st
th
4
th
and
10
and 10
th
days. Short term (1
st
, 3
rd
, 5
th
and7
th
hour) and long term (4
th
, 7
th
th
day) hypoglycemic effect were recorded using easy glucometer C 20. All animals
were sacrificed on 10
day to isolate the pancreas for histopathological examination.
The results showed that Parthenium hysterophorus L. lowers the blood glucose level
in all the groups of alloxan-induced diabetic rabbits. However, the swift reduction in
blood glucose level with MEPH was comparatively less than the experimental
standard drug i.e., Glucophage.The Pancreatic histopathological studies depicted that
a high dose of MEPH administration repaired alloxan-induced pancreatic damage.
Whereas, Glucophage only reduced blood glucose level as no repair in damaged tissue
was observed in the histopathological study of Glucophage treated animals. The study
shows that the whole plant of Parthenium hysterophorus L. is very useful for
developing effective phytomedicine to treat diabetes mellitus. The present
investigation recommends the use of Parthenium hysterophorus as an herbal remedy
for diabetes