Hypoglycemic action of Cyclocarya paliurus (Batal.) Iljinskaja in normal and diabetic mice.

This study examined the hypoglycaemic activity of Cyclocarya paliurus (Batal.) Iljinskaja (C. paliurus) in ICR mice by oral glucose tolerance testing. The blood glucose level was significantly lower in the C. paliurus extract treatment group than in the control group after animals were given sucrose. This difference was not observed following the administration of glucose. We demonstrated that the chronological change in the level of blood glucose in genetically hyperglycemic obese KK-Ay mice is significantly lower when C. paliurus extract is administered daily for three weeks. An in vitro study showed that C. paliurus inhibits alpha-glucosidase, a disaccharide-degrading enzyme in the small intestinal mucosa, leading to a decrease in the absorption of glucose into the blood and a subsequent lowering of the blood glucose level.