HYPOGLYCEMIC ACTIVITY OF THE METHANOLIC EXTRACT OF IMMATURE FRUITS OF Capsicum pubescens Ruiz et Pavon (PERON CHILI PEPPER) IN DIABETIC RATS

Capsicum pubescens is the least studied domesticated chili pepper, specifically in its antioxidant activity and hypoglycemic properties. It is cultivated on a small scale in family gardens and greenhouses in the central Mexico to the mid elevation Andes of Peru and Bolivia, where it probably originated. The fruits are called “peron” (pear‐shaped and yellow) or “manzano” (apple‐shaped and red) in Mexico and “rocoto” in Peru. In this research, the hypoglycemic effect of the methanolic extract of immature yellow chili fruit of C. pubescens (peron chili pepper), administered orally (100 μL) to diabetic rats treated with 40 mg of streptozotocin (STZ)/kg of body weight, was evaluated over 60 days in three doses (0.1, 1 and 10 mg/kg). During this time, the body weight and glucose levels were obtained every ten days and at 60 days, the rats were sacrificed (NOM‐062‐ZOO‐1999), determining the levels of blood glucose, urea, creatinine, uric acid, triacylglycerides, total lipids, total cholesterol and HDL‐cholesterol. In normoglycemic (non‐diabetic) rats, the extract did not show a negative effect on the parameters determined, maintaining blood glucose levels (90 mg/dL) and body weight (436.6 g) without significant differences in the three doses probed. However, in the diabetic rats treated with the extract, there was a significant decrease in the levels of blood glucose (<110 mg/dL), uric acid, creatinine, triacylglycerides and total lipids, and a tendency to lower cholesterol levels total and cholesterol‐HDL doses‐dependent. These results demonstrate the hypoglycemic effect of the methanolic extract of immature fruits of the yellow genotype of C. pubescens , as well as a protective effect of kidney and liver damage, mainly at a dose of 10 mg/kg. Support or Funding Information Grants: Financial support grant from CONACYT (ACC) and CIC/UMSNH (Project 2.10 RSG). This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .