Antidiabetic Activity of Cassia auriculata Flowers: Effect on Lipid Peroxidation in Streptozotocin Diabetes Rats

Abstract

Cassia auriculata, commonly known as “Tanner’s cassia,” is widely used in Indian folk medicine for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Oral administration of 0.45 g/kg body weight of the aqueous extract of the flower for 30 days resulted in a significant reduction in blood glucose and an increase in plasma insulin, but in the case of 0.15 and 0.30 g/kg, was not significant. The aqueous extract also resulted in decreased free radical formation in tissues studied. Thus, this study shows that Cassia auriculata flower extract (CFEt) has hypoglycemic action. The decrease in lipid peroxides and increase in reduced glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione S -transferase (GST) clearly show the antioxidant properties of CFEt. The effect of CFEt was most prominently seen in the case of animals given 0.45 g/kg body weight. CFEt was more effective than glibenclamide.