Hepatology and Pancreatic Science

Protection from Arsenic Induced Hyperglycemia by a Traditional Plant - A Preliminary Study

Abstract

Shaba Parveen, Sujaffar Hossain Molla, Tapan Kumar Ghosh and Alok Chattopadhyay

Arsenic contamination in water is a major threat to human health and among the health hazards hyperglycemia is important. The current investigation was planned to find some remedial treatment of arsenic induced hyperglycemia by dietary supplementation of a traditional plant. This study was performed for a period of 30 days on adult male Wistar rats weighing 120-140 g. They were divided into three equal groups (n=6): Group Control (C), normal saline administered, Treatment Group 1 (T1), arsenic trioxide fed at the dose of 3 mg/kg/day for 30 days; and Treatment Group 2 (T2), arsenic trioxide at the dose of 3 mg/kg/day for 30 days along with powder of leaves of Costus igneus fed at the dose of 500 mg/kg/day for the last 15 days of arsenic treatment. The body weights and blood sugar levels were recorded on Days 1, 15 and 30. The animals were sacrificed on the 31st day and pancreas was collected for histological study of islets cells. The body weights of both the groups T1 and T2 decreased significantly (*p<0.05) after 15 days of arsenic treatment. A significant increase in body weight of T2 was found in the next 15 days of Costus supplementation in comparison to T1. The blood sugar levels of both T1and T2 increased significantly (*p<0.05) after 15 days of treatment but it was reduced significantly in T2 after the next 15 days of Costus supplementation. The histology of the pancreatic islets cells in T1 illustrated that larger number of islet cells shrunken with lower number of cell counts in comparison to C. However, in T2, cell counts and morphology was restored significantly by Costus supplementation demonstrating that Costus igneus may be an effective agent in protection from arsenic induced hyperglycemia. From these preliminary findings further studies are warranted to elucidate the molecular mechanism of this plant’s antihyperglycemic action.