Hypoglycemic Effect of the Rhizomes of Smilax glabra in Normal and Diabetic Mice

抄録

The hypoglycemic effect of the rhizomes of Smilax glabra ROXBURGH (Liliaceae) was investigated in normal and KK-Ay mice, one of the animal models of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) with hyperinsulinemia.The methanol extract of rhizomes of Smilax glabra ROXBURGH (SM, 100 mg/kg body weight) reduced the blood glucose of normal mice 4 h after intraperitoneal administration (p<0.05), and also significantly lowered the blood glucose of KK-Ay mice under similar conditions (p<0.001). However, SM did not affect the blood glucose in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice, one of the animal models of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) with hypoinsulinemia. SM also suppressed epinephrine-induced hyperglycemia in mice. SM-treated KK-Ay mice significantly decreased the blood glucose in an insulin tolerance test. We concluded that the hypoglycemic effect of SM raised insulin sensitivity.