ABSTRACT:
In order to study the potential of Aquilaria malaccensis (agarwood) leaves extracts to combat diabetes mellitus, in vivo animal models might provide a true representation of the range of the human diabetic conditions. The model used here, the streptozotocin-induced diabetic male ICR mice. A group of ICR male mice, aged 8 weeks were induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of 100 mg /kg body weight of streptozotocin (STZ). Mice with fasting blood glucose over 200 mg/dl were used in this experiment. Diabetic mice were divided into eight groups, 6 groups were force-fed with three doses of plant extract (50, 100 and 150) mg plant extract /kg body weight for 14 consecutive days each and the rest groups were the control groups. Two different types of solvents were used in this study i.e. distilled water and 95% methanol. Low doses of aqueous and methanolic extracts (50 mg/Kg b.w) exhibited valuable treatments for hyperglycemia via lowering glucose levels to within the normal range in diabetic mice. Glucose levels in blood were reduced on the most recent days of treatment and, sometimes, last days of treatments, at the lowest concentration (50 mg/Kg b.w), were more effective in glucose levels reductions.