Efficacy of the total extract of Urtica dioica on the glucose utilization by the human muscle cells

Abstract

Objective: Plants are being used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus (DM) in the traditional system of medicine. Urtica Dioica (UD) has a variety of uses in traditional medicine. There are lots of reports about the hypoglycaemic effects of UD, but only few reports about the hypoglycaemic mechanisms of UD can be found in literature. The present study was designed to determine the possible mechanisms of the hypoglycaemic effects of UD on the glucose utilization by the human muscle cells in an in vitro study. Research Design and Methods: Human muscle cells were grown in multiple flasks which contained the culture medium. An alcoholic extract of UD at concentrations of 50, 100 and 200?/ml alone and in combination with insulin were added to the muscle cells in the flasks. The glucose levels in the flasks were measured before and 60,120 and 180 minutes after applying the extract or the extract plus insulin. Results: The mean glucose level in the muscle cell cultures with UD alone and with UD plus insulin at the above mentioned concentrations and time intervals did not change significantly.(p>0.05) Conclusions: The results of the present study demonstrated that the alcoholic extract of UD was unable to enhance the glucose utilization directly or by increasing the insulin sensitivity in the muscle cells and so, for the interpretation of the hypoglycaemic effects of UD (if any), other possibilities must be studied.