Effect of Traditional Chinese Medicine Complex for diabetes (TCM-D™) on experimentally induced diabetic mice

Background: We previously evaluated the biochemical changes induced by the local product TCM for diabetes (TCM-D™) on blood glucose levels and other biochemical changes in normal mice fed orally with the recommended human dose (30 ml/kg daily) and ten times this dose for eight weeks. TCM-D™ is an aqueous extract of the roots of Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim, Paeonia lactiflora Pall, Glycyrrhiza uranlensis Fisch. and Panax ginseng Meyer (red) combined at the dry weight proportions of 36%, 28%, 18% and 18% respectively. The study showed that at these dosages the blood glucose levels as well as the body weights in treated mice were significantly reduced when compared with pretreatment values and control animals. The present study evaluated the effect of the extract in a mouse model of Type 1 diabetes mellitus. Methods: TCM-D™ extract was prepared as a 10x concentrate and given orally at 0.3 ml/100 g and 1.5 ml/100 g to mice which were experimentally induced diabetic with intraperitoneal injections of streptozotocin (5 mg/100g) in sodium citrate (pH 4.5). Control diabetic mice were dosed with extract diluent (distilled water). Results: At the doses studied the compound did not show any significant lowering of the glucose levels in a mouse model of Type 1 diabetes. There were significant increases in the alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and creatinine levels which were most likely due to the treatment with the compound. There were no significant changes in the aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and blood urea levels due to the treatment. Neither was there any significant effect on the weight of the treated animals due to the treatment. Conclusions: It is concluded that TCM-D™ did not have any significant blood glucose lowering effect on streptozotocin induced diabetic mice when fed orally at 1-5 times the recommended human dose. Further work is needed to determine if the extract has any significant effect in a mouse model with Type 2 diabetes mellitus.