Acute toxicity and antidiabetic effect of the ethyl acetate fraction of Commelina diffusa Burm.f. on the high-fat diet and streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetic mice.

Pharmacological studies proved that Commelina diffusa Burm.f. performs various biological activities. Nevertheless, the scientific evidence supporting the hypoglycemic activities of this medicinal plant is insufficient. Thus, this study aims to assess the acute toxicity and the antidiabetic activity of the ethyl acetate fraction of Commelina diffusa (CD.EAF) in type 2 diabetic mice model induced by a high-fat diet and streptozotocin injection. The oral acute toxicity assessment was conducted following Lorke's method. The in vivo study was conducted by feeding Swiss male mice with a high-fat diet for 8 weeks and giving them a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin at 100mg/kg. When the experimental mice model was successfully induced, the CD.EAF at 100mg/kg/day and 300mg/kg/day doses were orally administered to animals for 14 days. After the treatment period, the repeated daily administration of the CD.EAF at both tested doses exposed significant antihyperglycemic activities in comparison with the untreated diabetic group (p<0.05). However, it did not affect the serum lipid levels of mice. Besides, there were significant ameliorations in the histopathological images of the liver and pancreas in mice treated with the CD.EAF. Our findings suggested that the CD.EAF might be a potential agent for drug development to prevent and treat type 2 diabetes.