Background and Objective: Stevia rebaudiana has been recently known as an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agent. Due to the increasing prevalence of diabetes, the present study was performed to investigate the hepatoprotective and antidiabetic effects of bitter fraction of Stevia rebaudiana alcoholic extract on diabetic male mice.
Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal administration of streptozotocin at a dose of 60 mg/kg in 28 male mice and they were randomly divided into 4 groups. The negative control group (untreated diabetic) received normal saline and the other three groups received glibenclamide at a dose of 0.5 mg/kg and alcoholic extract of S. rebaudiana at doses of 200 and 400 μg/kg, respectively, through gavage for 15 days. One group was considered as the positive control (non-diabetic). On the last day, levels of blood glucose, ALT (Alanine aminotransferase), AST (Aspartate aminotransferase) and ALP (Alkaline phosphatase) enzymes were measured. Total volume of the liver, hepatocytes, sinusoids, portal veins, central veins, hepatic arteries, and bile ducts were estimated in histological sections. The data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA followed by Duncan post hoc test.
Results: Alcoholic extract of S. rebaudiana could decrease blood glucose levels significantly (p<0.05) compared to the negative control group. The increased levels of AST and ALP enzymes as well as the total volume of liver, hepatocytes, and sinusoids decreased significantly after treatment with high dose of S. rebaudiana extract in comparison with the negative control and glibenclamide groups (p<0.05).
Conclusion: It seems that bitter fraction of S. rebaudiana alcoholic extract can regulate the blood glucose and inhibits hepatic damages in diabetic mice.
Key words: Stevia rebaudiana, Streptozotocin, Mice, Liver
Funding: There was no fund for this study.
Conflict of interest: None declared.
Ethical approval: The Ethical Committee of Razi University approved the study.
 
How to cite this article: Najafi F, Goodarzi N, Zangeneh MM, Zangeneh A, Hagh-Nazari L. Antidiabtic and Hepatoprotective Effects of Bitter Fraction of Stevia rebaudiana Alcoholic Extract on Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Male Mice. J Rafsanjan Univ Med Sci 2017; 16(6): 493-504. [Farsi]