GLYCEMIC EFFECT OF SMALLANTHUSSONCHIFOLIUS (YACON) TUBER EXTRACT IN 50% DEXTROSE-INDUCED HYPERGLYCEMIC BALB/C MICE

ABSTRACT: In the advent of herbal supplements for various conditions, patients as well as medical professionals have grown to view this as beneficial for a number of reasons, one of which is the possibility of tapering down the dose of the conventional drug used so as to yield less adverse effects. It is dais that patients with diabetes mellitus should ingest complex carbohydrates, which are not readily absorbed as simple carbohydrates. Up to 67% of the yacon tuber is made of fructooligosaccharides, a complex carbohydrate. Forty hyperglycemic BALB/c mice induced with 50% dextrose solution were divided into a control group and an experimental group. 15% of the population of each group was isolated. This chosen percentage comprises of mice whose blood glucose level reached 250 mg/dL or more. The control group was administered with plain NSS and the experimental group was administered with yacon tuber ethanolic extract reconstituted with distilled water. Blood glucose levels were subsequently measured in 30, 60, 120, 180 minute-intervals. The yacon-treated mice were shown to have a significant reduction in the blood glucose level. Therefore, yacon tuberous roots are potentially beneficial to people who are suffering from hyperglycemia, such as people with diabetes mellitus.

Department of Pharmacology