Diabetes mellitus is a serious illness with multiple complications and premature mortality, accounting for at least 10% of total health care expenditure in many countries. Bauhinia variegata Linn. grow in subtropical and tropical climate. The chemical constituents present in the plants are β-sitosterol, luperol, kemferol-3-glucoside, tannins, carbohydrates, amines, reducing sugars, quarcetin, rutin. Bark is used as alternative tonic, haematinic, anthelmentic, antibacterial and astringent. Buds are used in cough and bleeding piles. This plant is traditionally used as folk medicine for the treatment of diabetes however no research work has been carried out so far to determine its antidiabetic potential so the present study was undertaken to investigate antidiabrtic potential of leaves of Bauhinia variegata (BV). Wistar albino rats (150-180 gm) of either sex were maintained under standard environmental laboratory conditions and fed with laboratory diet and water ad libitum. The experimental diabetes was induced in the animals by single intraperitonial injection of freshly prepared solution of Streptozotocin (50 mg/kg). The blood glucose level was estimated after 72 hr of Streptozotocin administration. Rats fasting blood glucose level above 200 mg/dl were considered as diabetic and selected for the further activity. Treatment with extracts of BV was started 72 hr after Streptozotocin injection. On the day 21, blood was collected by retro orbital puncture under mild chloroform anesthesia from overnight fasted rats for the estimation of biochemical parameters (e.g. SGOT, SGPT, Cholesterol, Triglycerides, Total protein, Albumin and HDL-Cholesterol). Results of present study reviles that ethanol extract of Bauhinia variegata leaves showed potent blood glucose lowering activity in diabetic rats at the dose of 300 mg/kg. Administration of EE extract of Bauhinia variegata leaves for 21 days not only significantly lowered elevated blood glucose level in diabetic rats but also causes improvement in lipid profile and body weight of the diabetic rats.
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