Effect of hydro-alcoholic extract of yellow horned poppy (Glaucium flavum) on serum concentration of glucose and lipid profile and weight changes in alloxan induced diabetic rats

Background & Aim: Yellow horned poppy is known as an antidiabetic drug in Iran folk medicine. This study was conducted to compare the effect of yellow horned poppy and glibenclamide on blood glucose concentration, blood lipid profile and weight of alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Materials & Methods: 40 male rats were randomly divided into five groups of eight: 1)healthy control 2)healthy treated with 500 mg/kg of body weight (BW)/day of the extract 3)diabetic control 4)diabetic treated with 500 mg/kg of BW/day of the extract 5)diabetic treated with 5µg/kg of BW/day of glibenclamide. Diabetes induced in the 3rd,4th and 5th groups  by intraperitoneal injection of 120 mg/kg BW of alloxan. The weight of rats was measured after 1, 14 and 28 days. After a month, animals were euthanized and blood samples collected to measure serum levels of fasting blood glucose, triglyceride, cholesterol and lipoproteins including: HLD-C and LDL-C by an auto-analyzer. Data analysis was performed by repeated measure Anova, one way Anova and Tukey test. Results: We found a significant decrease in glucose concentration in the diabetic+extract group compared to the diabetic control (P<0.001), this decrease was significantly lower than that in the diabetic+drug group (P=0.03). Triglyceride, cholesterol and LDL concentrations in the diabetic+extract group showed a significant decrease compared to those in the diabetic control group (P<0.001). Significant increase in HDL concentration was observed in the diabetic+extract group compared to that in the diabetic control group (P<0.001). Conclusion: The present study showed antidiabetic effect of yellow horned poppy in the rats which is comparable to the effect of glibenclamide.