Abstract

PHARMACOKINETIC AND PHARMACODYNAMIC DRUG INTERACTION OF METFORMIN AND HERBAL EXTRACT IN STREPTOZOTOCIN-INDUCED DIABETIC RATS

*P. Sailaja Rao and Prakash V. Diwan

Abstract

Background: The synthetic and herbal drugs are commonly used by the patients in chronic diseases like diabetes mellitus, cancer and hepatitis. Objective: The present study was designed to investigate the possible drug- drug interactions between the methanolic extract of Momordica dioica seeds and Metformin. Materials and Methods: Male Wistar rats weighing about 180-250 gms were selected for the study. The type II diabetes was induced in animals by a single intra peritoneal injection of streptozotocin (30 mg/kg body weight). The animals were divided into 8 groups of 6 rats each (n=6). Metformin was administered orally as – 20, 40 and 80 mg/kg, and metformin in combination with herbal extracts were administered in same doses. The effect of combination of both drugs on the pharmacokinetic parameters was studied in experimental animals after the treatment for a period of 21 days. The pharmacodynamic effect of combination of both the drugs was studied on the serum glucose levels of diabetic rats after multiple dosing. Results: It is evident from the study that the serum glucose levels with metformin in the dose of 40 mg/kg along with the herbal extract was significantly decreased (*p

Keywords: Streptozotocin, diabetes, Pharmacodynamic interaction, Metformin, Area under curve.