Hypoglycemic Effects of a Standardized Extract of Salvia miltiorrhiza Roots in Rats

ABSTRACT

Aims: Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (Labiatae) is a Chinese medicinal plant, the dried roots of which (known as Dan‑Shen) have been used for hundreds of years in the treatment of a series of ailments, including hyperglycemia. This study was designed to evaluate the hypoglycemic effect of a new, standardized extract of S. miltiorrhiza. Materials and Methods: S. miltiorrhiza extract (containing 21% total tanshinones and 3.7% tanshinone IIA) was administered acutely and intragastrically at the doses of 0, 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg to male, healthy, fasted Wistar rats 60 min before the intragastric infusion of a bolus of starch (3 g/kg; a semi‑naturalistic experimental condition) (Experiment 1) or glucose (2 g/kg) (Experiment 2). Results: In both experiments, treatment with S. miltiorrhiza extract produced a dose‑related decrease in glycemia, evidenced in terms of reduction of peak value and/or area under the curve of the time‑course of glycemia. The effect of S. miltiorrhiza extract occurred at doses devoid of any behavioral toxicity in rats. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the hypoglycemic effect of S. miltiorrhiza extract was likely secondary to an action on carbohydrate metabolism. These results are consistent with several preclinical and clinical data and add further support to the hypothesis that S. miltiorrhiza extracts may act as effective anti‑hyperglycemic remedies.

KEYWORDS

• Rats
• standardized extract of S. miltiorrhiza roots
• starch‑ and glucose‑induced rise in glycemia
• type‑2 diabetes

Showing references and in-text citations exactly as published.

• DOI10.4103/0973-1296.172959Copy

RELATED ARTICLES

Matched on section and article type within this issue of Pharmacogn. Mag..

• Article · VOLUME 11, ISSUE 44S3Cucumis melo ssp. Agrestis var. Agrestis Ameliorates High Fat Diet Induced Dyslipidemia in Syrian Golden Hamsters and Inhibits Adipogenesis in 3T3‑L1 AdipocytesKripa Shankar, Sumit K. Singh, Durgesh Kumar, Salil Varshney, Abhishek Gupta, Sujith Rajan, Ankita Srivastava, Muheeb Beg, Anurag Kumar Srivastava, Sanjeev Kanojiya, Dipak K. Mishra, Anil N. Gaikwad · pp. 501–510Original ArticleSame type: Article
• Article · VOLUME 11, ISSUE 44S3Sub‑chronic Administration of Methanolic Whole Fruit Extract of Lagenaria breviflora (Benth.) Roberty Induces Mild Toxicity in RatsOlubukola Sinbad Olorunnisola, Anthony Jide Afolayan, Adewale Adetutu · pp. 516–521Original ArticleSame type: Article
• Article · VOLUME 11, ISSUE 44S3Chemometrics Optimized Extraction Procedures, Phytosynergistic Blending and in vitro Screening of Natural Enzyme Inhibitors Amongst Leaves of Tulsi, Banyan and JamunBaishakhi De, Koushik Bhandari, Rajeev K. Singla, Prakash Katakam, Tanmoy Samanta, Dilip Kumar Kushwaha, Rohit Gundamaraju, Analava Mitra · pp. 522–532Original ArticleSame type: Article
• Article · VOLUME 11, ISSUE 44S3Phytochemical Analysis on Quantification and the Inhibitory Effects on Inflammatory Responses from the Fruit of Xanthii fructusSae‑Rom Yoo, Chang‑Seob Seo, Na‑Ri Lee, Hyeun‑Kyoo Shin, Soo‑Jin Jeong · pp. 585–591Original ArticleSame type: Article