Roots of Rumex abyssinicus lower blood sugar, can be used for diabetes treatment: Study

Ethiopia: Findings from a recent study, published in the Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, have supported the traditional use of Rumex abyssinicus roots for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. The study showed that the crude extract of the plant owned antidiabetic activity. 

Diabetes Mellitus is a chronic disease that required long-lasting treatment. Several plants have been used for treating diabetes for a long period in Ethiopian traditional medicine practices. Ethiopians have used the root of Rumex abyssinicus for the treatment of diabetes mellitus.

Against the above background, Getaye Tessema Desta, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia, and aimed to investigate the antidiabetic activity of the crude extract of Rumex abyssinicus root in Swiss albino mice. 

For crude extraction, the cold maceration technique and hydro methanolic (80% methanol) solvent with occasionally shaking were employed. Normoglycemic, glucose-loaded, and streptozotocin-induced diabetic models were used to evaluate the antidiabetic activity of the crude extract. In each model, the mice who were fasted overnight were randomly divided into five groups for normoglycemic and glucose-loaded models negative control, positive control, and three tested groups. In streptozotocin-induced diabetic models, the mice were grouped into six groups like one diabetic and one normal negative control group, three diabetic tested groups, and one diabetic positive group.

Each group consisted of six mice. For all models, the tested groups received the crude extract at 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg doses. Both both diabetic and nondiabetic negative control groups received 10 ml/kg distilled water, and positive groups received 5 mg/kg glibenclamide.