Antidiabetic Effect of Sargassum wightii and Ulva fasciata in High fat diet and Multi Low Dose Streptozotocin Induced Type 2 Diabetic Mice

This study was undertaken to evaluate the antidiabetic effect of edible seaweeds Sargassum wightii and Ulva fasciata with an objective to establish these seaweeds as add-on therapy for controlling diabetes. The ethyl acetate extract of Sargassum wightii (EAS) and Ulva fasciata (EAU) at 100 and 200 mg/kg dose was examined for antidiabetic activity in the high fat diet and multi-low-dose streptozotocin induced type 2 diabetic mice. Plasma glucose, oral glucose tolerance test [OGTT], lipid profile, liver and skeletal muscle glycogen content, triglycerides, superoxide dismutase [SOD], body and organ weight was estimated at the end of the study. Consequently, histopathology of liver was also studied. Both EAS and EAU showed significant reduction in plasma glucose level and the area under curve [AUC] of OGTT was significantly (p<0.001) attenuated. The extracts appreciably normalized lipid profile, body and organ weight. At higher doses of both EAS and EAU showed significant (p<0.05) improvement in SOD level of skeletal muscle and reduction in liver as well as skeletal muscle triglycerides. Both the extracts considerably enhanced hepatic and muscle glycogen content. Remarkable improvements were found in the histopathological observations of liver of all the treated groups as compared against the diabetes induced group. The findings suggest that these seaweeds offer a great opportunity to satisfy the food and nutrition requirement for rectifying and controlling diabetes.