The previously studied hypoglycemic effect of fenugreek galactomannan was confirmed in normal rats. Additional investigations were carried out to study the effect of galactomannan on utilization of glucose by hemidiaphragm and its antioxidant activity in diabetic rats. As compared to diabetic control rats, the galactomannan enhanced the uptake of glucose by hemidiaphragm but it was not comparable to the standard drug glibenclamide. Furthermore, galactomannan lowered lipid peroxidation and elevated the levels of antioxidant enzymes. The present study demonstrates that fenugreek galactomannan exhibits little antioxidant activity and little effect on peripheral glucose uptake. Further scope is there to study galactomannan's different antidiabetic mechanism(s) of actions.
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