Antidiabetic and Synergistic Effects of Anthocyanin Fraction from Berberis integerrima Fruit on Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats Model

Diabetes mellitus is a complex endocrine disorder. There is a serious attempt to identify antidiabetic compounds from natural sources to use with other drugs for reduction of diabetes complications. Present study is based on the investigation of antihyperglycemic effect of anthocyanin fraction of Berberis integerrima Bunge (AFBI) fruits on some physiological parameters (glucose level, glycogen content, and body weight) in normal and streptozotocin-induced (STZ-induced) diabetic rats and evaluation of synergic effect of this fraction with metformin and glibenclamide. Male Sprague dawley rats were divided into nine groups: healthy control group, diabetic control group, diabetic groups treated with anthocyanin fraction (200, 400 and 1000 mg/kg, respectively); diabetic groups treated with glibenclamide and metformin separately, diabetic groups treated with glibenclamide + anthocyanin fraction (1000 mg/kg), metformin + anthocyanin fraction (1000 mg/kg). Treatment of diabetic rats with AFBI (400, 1000 mg/kg) significantly decreased blood glucose as compared with control. Moreover, AFBI (400, 1000 mg/kg) significantly increased liver glycogen and body weight compared to control. Nevertheless, there were no synergistic effects between anthocyanin fraction and metformin or glibenclamide on blood glucose, liver glycogen, and body weight. The results of this study indicate that AFBI possesses hypoglycemic effects and may be considered for evaluation in future diabetes clinical studies.