Geduin, Florance
(2014)
Preliminary study on the effects of winter melon
(benincasa hispida) on glycemic profiles: In vivo test on streptozotocin sprague-dawley rats.
Project Report.
Universiti Sains Malaysia.
(Submitted)
Abstract
Benincasa hispida (BH) or known as Winter Melon is a widely used vegetable in tropical
countries and has been used to control diabetes traditionally among the citizen, particularly
among the Asian people. Different parts of the BH were shown to have hypoglycemic and
anti-diabetic effects. However, less study was done to study the hypoglycemic and antidiabetic
properties of the flesh of BH. The hypoglycemic effects of the extract were studied on normal rats. Results showed that blood glucose level reduced by 14.2% during fasting blood glucose test. During oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in diabetic rats, blood glucose
level reduced by 10.5%. The anti-diabetic effect were studied in Streptozotocin (STZ)-
induced diabetic animals by comparing the effect of different aqueous extract doses on blood
glucose levels in rats during OGTT and using the effective dose of extract (250 mg/kg daily)
for 28 days in diabetic rats. The change in fasting blood glucose, body weight, urine sugar
and HbAlc level were monitored. The dose of 250 mg/kg was found to be an effective dose
as it produced a fall of 17.8% in blood glucose level during OGTT in diabetic rat. After four
weeks of treatment, the blood glucose level reduced by 29% and the body weight increased
by 36.7%, compared to diabetic rats without treatment. The HbAlc level produced a fall of
7.3% but urine sugar showed no improvement after four weeks. The Benincasa hispida
extract has not significantly improved the glycemic profile of the STZ-induced diabetic rats.
However, it is shown to help improving the glycemic profile if the baseline blood glucose
level is below 20 mmol/l.
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