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Indian Journal of Clinical Biochemistry logoLink to Indian Journal of Clinical Biochemistry
. 2008 Oct 1;23(3):238–242. doi: 10.1007/s12291-008-0053-z

Antidiabetic and antioxidant effects of Picrorhiza kurrooa rhizome extracts in diabetic rats

Shivkumar Chauhan 1,2,, Nirmalendu Nath 1, Vinay Tule 1,2
PMCID: PMC3453454  PMID: 23105761

Abstract

Picrorhiza kurrooa is mentioned in Ayurveda for the treatment of many disorders, but it has not been subjected to systematic scientific investigations to assess its antidiabetic effect. The oral administration of aqueous and methanol extracts of P. kurrooa rhizomes (250 and 500 mg / kg body weight / day) for 15 days significantly reduced blood glucose, glycosylated haemoglobin and increased total hemoglobin, plasma insulin in alloxan-induced diabetes in albino rats. The treatment also showed significant correction in the level of nitric oxide radicals, superoxide radicals, peroxynitrite radical, lipid peroxidation, glutathione, glutathione reductase, glutathione-S-transferase, glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase and catalase in the pancreas of alloxan diabetic rats.

Key words: Picrorhiza kurrooa, Antidiabetic, Alloxan, Antioxidant

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