OBJECTIVE:
Bixa orellana (annatto) is a natural pigment and food colorant that has been used for a variety of therapeutic purposes. It has been suggested that annatto could have the property of reducing blood glucose levels. However, most previous studies have demonstrated a hypoglycemic effect in non-diabetic animals. We evaluated the impact of annatto on blood glucose levels in an experimental model of diabetes mellitus.
METHOD:
Male Wistar rats were made diabetic by a single dose of60 mg/kg streptozotocin, injected intraperitoneally. One group of diabetic animals was treated with annatto, 540 mg/kg, administered via gavage.
RESULTS:
Annatto treated diabetic animals showed significantly lower blood sugar levels than untreated diabetics. The blood glucose curve showed that the hypoglycemic effect of annatto lasted for the twelve hours of evaluation. However, the most significant reduction on blood glucose took place two hours after drug administration. Annatto did not prevent the weight loss that is characteristic of decompensated diabetes mellitus.
CONCLUSION:
Annatto has a hypoglycemic property in rats with severe diabetes mellitus. Such an effect had a relatively long duration, but is more pronounced two hours after drug administration.
KEYWORDS:
Bixa orellana; Diabetes Mellitus; Rats
