Effect of Biophytum sensitivum on streptozotocin and nicotinamide-induced diabetic rats

Objective

To investigate the effect of aqueous solution of Biophytum sensitivum leaf extract (BSEt) on normal and streptozotocin (STZ)-nicotinamide-induced diabetic rats.

Methods

Diabetes was induced in adult male Wistar rats by the administration of STZ-nicotinamide (40, 110 mg/kg b.w., respectively) intraperitoneally. BSEt (200 mg/kg) was administered to diabetic rats for 28 days. The effect of extract on blood glucose, plasma insulin, total haemoglobin, glycosylated haemoglobin, liver glycogen and carbohydrate metabolism regulating enzymes of liver was studied in diabetic rats.

Results

BSEt significantly reduced the blood glucose and glycosylated haemoglobin levels and significantly increased the total haemoglobin, plasma insulin and liver glycogen levels in diabetic rats. It also increased the hexokinase activity and decreased glucose-6-phosphatase, fructose-1, 6-bisphosphatase activities in diabetic rats.

Conclusions

The results of our study suggest that BSEt possesses a promising effect on STZ-nicotinamide-induced diabetes.     

Major Determinants of Consumer Satisfaction with Primary Care in Different Health Systems

It is becoming increasingly recognized that patient or ‘consumer’views should be taken into account as part of a comprehensiveassessment of quality of care. This paper reports a study carriedout in four European countries about consumer satisfaction withprimary care. The results showed that higher levels of generalsatisfaction with general practitioner services were found inCanterbury (95%) and loannina (87%) than Belgrade (85%) andMoscow (62%). Further analysis of the data showed that in allfour cities the key dimensions of satisfaction with generalpractitioner care are both the nature in quality of the doctor-patientrelationship and the GP's professional skills. The implicationsof these findings are discussed.     

Relationship among the reaction of the systemic arterial pressure,constriction of skeletal muscle arterioles,and norepinephrine-induced changes in the linear blood flow rate in rats subjected to whole-body γ-irradiation in a dose of 1 gy

The duration and amplitude of pressor reactions of AP to intravenous injection of norepinephrine remain unchanged 1, 3 and 5–6 days after irradiation. The duration of norepinephrine-induced changes in the diameter of arterioles of the thumb extensor muscle proper and the linear blood flow rate in them is decreased in irradiated animals. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 117, N ^o 3, pp. 274–277, March, 1994