Adeniyi Paulina Oludoyin
Very many scientific findings have reported the hypoglycemic effect of different extracts of ginger,Zingiber officinale, few have delved into the effect of the raw extract and the possible mechanisms of action while very few have explained this effect of the cooked extract of the spice, the form in which it is most commonly consumed. Hence, this study aimed at determining the effect of raw and cooked ginger extracts on pancreatic amylase activity in normal and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Seventy male Albino rats were divided into 7 groups and were treated thus: A- normal or negative control, B- normal rats given raw ginger extract; C- normal rats given cooked ginger extract; D- diabetic control; E- diabetic rats given raw ginger extract; F- diabetic rats given cooked ginger extract; and G- diabetic rats given glibenclamide. The extracts were administered as a single daily oral dosage of 4ml/kg body weight for 4 weeks after which the animals were sacrificed and the pancreas removed for pancreatic amylase activity assay. ANOVA and LSD were used to compare the mean of the data. Both extracts increased the enzyme activity in normal and diabetic rats. This increase, though lower in cooked extract, was still significant (p< 0.05). The acute and chronic effect of the extracts and after starch load followed a similar trend with the extracts prolonging the peak blood glucose level to 1.5 hours at the chronic state. Ginger extracts and the anti diabetic drug did not inhibit the activity of pancreatic amylase, hence, this is not a possible mechanism for the hypoglycemic effect of the spice though these effect a longer time for the blood glucose to reach its peak value after chronic administration.
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