Abstract
In recent years, green tea has become a subject of interest because of its beneficial effects on human health. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of daily oral administration of green tea extract for 6 weeks on plasma glucose, lipid profile and kidney functions in alloxan-induced diabetic rats to show the preventive and curative effects of green tea. Rats (130-150 g) were divided into 4 groups, normal control rats, diabetic rats, diabetic rats post-treated with green tea and diabetic rats pretreated with green tea. Green tea extract was administered orally for 6 weeks to the third and forth groups (300 mg/kg b.w,). Plasma glucose, triglycerides, HDL and LDL-cholesterol were significantly reduced in post-treated and pre-treated groups while plasma cholesterol was significantly reduced only in post-treated group while plasma creatinine, urea and uric acid levels were significantly reduced in post-treated diabetic group, but in the pre-treated group creatinine and uric acid levels were reduced, but urea level did not change. It is concluded that the consumption of green tea produced a significant reduction in glucose level in diabetic rats. In addition green tea is capable of improving hyperlipidaemia and the impaired kidney functions in addition to its hyperglycemic control.
Highlights
Diabetes mellitus is a common disorder associated with markedly increased morbidity and mortality rate
Pre-treatment with green tea did not prevent the elevation of plasma cholesterol level, and statistically it was not changed when compared with diabetic rats, and still significantly higher than normal, while plasma triglycerides and Low density lipoproteins (LDL)-cholesterol levels were significantly decreased when compared with diabetic rats, but triglycerids is still significantly higher than normal, and LDL decreased than normal rats
The present study revealed that green tea extract possesses both preventive and curative effects on diabetic rats
Summary
Diabetes mellitus is a common disorder associated with markedly increased morbidity and mortality rate. Green tea is being widely studied for its beneficial effects in the treatment and prevention of human diseases Green tea extracts contain a number of components including catechins, saponins and flavonoids, and it has been demonstrated that catechins can reduce cellular oxidation (Hara, 2001), blood glucose level (Matsumoto et al, 1993) and cholesterol absorption (Ikeda et al, 1992). Green tea has been reported to reduce body weight, body mass index and body fat (Tsuchida et al, 2002) and serum cholesterol level (Imai and Nakachi, 1995), In addition, Babu et al (2007) showed that green tea consumption reduce the blood glucose as well as total cholesterol level and body fat, he suggested that green tea may be effective in preventing the development of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Green tea given to normal rats at a high dose decreased plasma glucose, and triglycerides (Wu et al, 2004)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call