3. Results
3.1. Toxicity Evaluation of Plant Extract. In the acute toxicity
study, the methanolic extract of R. nasutus did not lead to
mortality even at the highest dose of 250mg/kg body weight
in male rats. At the highest dose, no gross behavioral changes
were observed among the rats.These results indicate that the
toxicity level of R. nasutus is low.
3.2. The Effects of R. nasutus Extract on Total Carbohydrate
Levels in Experimental Rats. Theeffect of oral administration
of R. nasutus methanolic extract for 30 days on the total carbohydrate
content in liver tissues of control and experimental
groups of rats is shown in Figure 1.The liver tissues of diabetic
rats showed a significant decrease in the content of total carbohydrate.
Treatment with R. nasutus methanolic extract or
with glibenclamide restored the carbohydrate levels. No significant
variations in total carbohydrate levels were found in
control rats treated with R. nasutus methanolic extract alone.
3.3. The Effects of R. nasutus Extract on Glycogen Levels in
Experimental Rats. The effects of oral administration of R.
nasutus methanolic extract for 30 days on glycogen content
in liver tissue of control and experimental groups of rats are
0
10
20
30
40
Control C + PE Diabetic Diab + PE Diab + Gli
∗
∗∗ ∗∗∗
mg of glucose/g
Groups
wet wt of tissue
Figure 1: Changes in the total carbohydrate levels in the liver tissue
of experimental rats.The barswith different number of asterisks vary
significantly at