Hypoglycaemic effect of the salt bush (Atriplex halimus) — a feeding source of the Sand Rat (Psammomys obesus)
Hypoglyeaemic Effect of the Salt Bush (Atriplex Halimus) - a Feeding Source of the Sand Rat (Psammomys 0besus)
Diabetologia 0
0 Department of Applied Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, ]:Iebrew University , Jerusalem , Israel
Summary. The fact t h a t the so-called "Sand l~at" (Psammomys obesus) is highly susceptible to diabetes, and succumbs to it while changing its food from green leaves to laboratory pellets, puzzled us for a long time. Several hypotheses for this phenomenon were suggested, based on the idea t h a t the sand rats are predisposed to diabetes, and t h a t diabetes occurs when the rats are fed on a high caloric diet. I n addition to this, it was noticed t h a t the diabetic rats have high plasma insulin levels, which indicated an impairment in their peripheral utilization of glucose. -- Assuming t h a t the green leaves which the sand rats find in nature prevent their becoming diabetic, we examined the main feeding source of the sand rats in Israel for possible hypoglycaemie activity. Press juice from green leaves of Atriplex halimus, as well as their water extract and dialysate, were fed to normal and to alloxan-diabetic albino rats, and showed a significant hypoglyeaemie effect without any decrease in appetite. Moreover, their food and water intake was increased by 50--800% within 5 h after treatment. The effect was also preserved in the ash of the dialysate. The composition of the hypoglyeaemie principle is now under study. It is not based on the presence of cations, since the active extracts contained K, lqa, Ca, Mg and Al only.
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Hypoglylci~mischer Effelct yon Atriplex halimus -itauptnahrungsqueUe der Sandratte (Psammomys obesus)
Zusammenfassung. Die Tatsaehe, dal3 die sogenannte
,,Sandratte" (Psammomys obesus) leicht zu Diabetes
neigt, ist bekannt. W e n n ihr F u t t e r yon griinen B1/~ttern
auf Laboratoriumsprel~linge umgestellt wird, entwickelt
die Sandratte bald einen sehweren Diabetes.
Verschiedene Hypothesen wurden aufgestellt, die auf der Annahme
ful~ten, da2 die Sandratten Diabetes-empfindlieh seien
und dal3 dieser Diabetes auftritt, wenn die R a t t e n auf
kalorienreiehe Di/~t gesetzt werden, Dabei wurde
festgestellt, dal3 die diabetischen Sandratten einen hohen
Plasma-Insulin-Spiegelentwickeln, was darauf schliel3en l~l~t,
dal~ hier eine Beeintr/ichtigung ihres peripheren
GlucoseUtilisationsvermSgensvorliegt. -- Ausgehend yon der
Annahme, dal3 die frischeu B1/~tter, welche die Sandratte in
der Natur findet, das Auftreten des Diabetes verhiiten
kSnnten, untersuehten wit die Hauptnahrungsquellen
dieser Ratte in Israel auf ihre hypoglyk/imisehe Aktivit/~t.
lgormale R a t t e n und alloxan-diabetische R a t t e n warden
sowohl mit dem Prel~saft frischer B1/~tter vou Atriplex
halimus (Staudenmelde) als auch mit deren w/il3rigem
Auszug und Dialysat gefiittert. Dabei zeigte sieh, da2
diese Pflanze eine beaehtliehe hypoglyk/imische Wirkung
besitzt, ohne den Appetit herabzusetzen. W/ihrend der
ersten 5 Std naeh der Behandlung gingen Wasser- u n d
Nahrmagsaufnahme sogar u m 50-- 800 % herauf. Der
hypoglyk~mische Effekt bleibt auch in der Asche des Dialysats
erhalten. Des wirksame hypoglyk/imische Prinzip yon
Atriplex halimus wird jetzt yon uns untersucht. Es hat
sieher niehts mit dem Kationengehalt der Extrakte zu
tun, die nur K, Na, Ca, ?r u n d A1 enthalten.
Key-words: Hypoglycaemic substances from plants,
sand rat, psammomys obesus, atriplex halimus, diabetes
mellitus, pancreas, carbohydrate metabolism.
Introduction
The s a n d r a t ( P s a m m o m y s obesus) is regarded as a
useful a n i m a l for studies on e x p e r i m e n t a l diabetes,
since diabetes ean be easily i n d u c e d i n this a n i m a l b y
c h a n g i n g its diet from fresh vegetables to l a b o r a t o r y
chow. A l m o s t all s a n d rats m a i n t a i n e d on a diet of
lab o r a t o r y pellets develop signs of diabetes mellitus, e.g.
hyperglycaemia, glueosuria a n d cataracts. A t a u t o p s y
these a n i m a l s show d e g r a n u l a t i o n of the beta-cells of
the islets of L a n g e r h a n s , a n d those with the m o s t
severe diabetes a t the t i m e of d e a t h show also islet cell
vaeuolization a n d glycogen nephrosis. S a n d rats t h a t
were fed exclusively on fresh vegetables for a similar
l e n g t h of time did n o t show a n y of these s y m p t o m s , n o r
did animals w h e n e x a m i n e d i m m e d i a t e l y after
trapping. On the other hand~ a high percentage of all rats
e x a m i n e d - - b o t h n o r m a l a n d diabetic - - showed
pneum o n i a a n d abscesses i n the jaws a n d skull at t i m e of
death. There was no a p p a r e n t difference i n the
inci
Z. A~.~.~o~soN et al. : Hypoglycaemic Effect of Atriplex ttalimus
dence of involvement between the diabetic group and
the group fed vegetables, which was considered to be
"non-diabetic". There is general belief t h a t " t h e sand
rats are predisposed to diabetes and the (...truncated)