Hypoglycemic action of embelia madagascariensis in normal and diabetic mice

The hypoglycemic effect of Embelia madagascariensis (Myrsinaceae) was investigated in both normal and streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice. The methanol extract of leaves of Embelia madagascariensis (EL)(500 mg/kg) reduced the blood glucose of normal mice from 206 +/- 9 to 137 +/- 10 mg/100 ml 4 hours after intraperitoneal administration (P < 0.001), and also significantly lowered the blood glucose of streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice from 570 +/- 29 to 401 +/- 59 mg/100 ml under similar conditions (P < 0.05). EL also suppressed epinephrine-induced hyperglycemia in mice (control vs EL, P < 0.01).