Antioxidant activity of Tinospora cordifolia roots in experimental diabetes.

We made an attempt to study the antioxidant properties of Tinospora cordifolia roots, an indigenous plant used in Ayurvedic medicine in India in alloxan diabetic rats. Oral administration of an aqueous T. cordifolia root extract (TCREt) (2.5 and 5.0 g/kg) for 6 weeks resulted in a decrease in the levels of plasma thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, ceruloplasmin and alpha-tocopherol in alloxan diabetic rats. The root extract also causes an increase in the levels of glutathione and vitamin C in alloxan diabetes. The root extract at a dose of 5.0 g/kg showed the highest effect. The effect of TCREt was more effective than glibenclamide. Insulin restored all the parameters to near normal levels.