CHRONIC HYPOGLYCEMIC AND HYPOLIPIDEMIC EFFECT OF Equisetum myriochaetum AERIAL PARTS ON STREPTOZOTOCIN-INDUCED DIABETIC RATS

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a chronic multifactorial metabolic disorder that affects 463 million people and caused 4.2 million deaths in 2019. Although there are many approved treatments,, the number of diabetic patients is increasing. One of the reasons can be the lack of treatment adherence due to different causes, being the unwanted side effects one of these. Medicinal plants can fulfill the need for new treatments especially because these treatments are better accepted, have none or mild side effects, are widely available and, have a lower cost. In this study, we demonstrated the chronic hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effect of the aqueous extract of the aerial parts of E. myriochaetum on streptozotocin -induced diabetic rats by administrating a daily oral dose of 7 mg/kg (BW) of the aqueous extract for 33 days and testing its effect against glibenclamide-treated diabetic rats and diabetic rats with no treatment. We also demonstrated the absence of side effects determined by the observation of clinical non-invasive parameters. The hypolipidemic effect of the extract, not previously reported, is an additional benefit for the treatment of diabetic patients due to the association of this disease with dyslipidemia. The hypolipidemic effect may be one of the possible mechanisms of action contributing to the hypoglycemic effect of E. myriochaetum, not excluding any other mechanism. The long term hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effect associated with the absence of side effects, toxicity, and genotoxicity, previously reported, give support for the safe extensive use of this decoction for the treatment of diabetes.