THE EFFECT OF PANAX GINSENG ON ALLOXAN DIABETES IN RATS FED DIFFERENT DIETS

This study was carried out in two series of experiments.In the first series,17 male rats were divided into two groups and were given alloxan 200mg/kg intraperitoneally.For one week prior to and eleven weeks after alloxan injection the food of one group(6 animals)consisted of corn meal plus 5% Panax ginseng,whereas that of the other group(11 animals)was without ginseng.In the second series,54 male rats were divided into three groups.The first group(20 rats)was fed a high protein diet contaning 5% Panax ginseng powder,the diet of the second(14 rats) and third(20 rats)groups was without ginseng.After 30 days,a dose of alloxan 50 mg/kg was given to all animals by the saphenous vein.When the animals were made diabetic,the second group of animals were given an aqueous extract of Panax ginseng orally,the ginseng powder of the first group was also replaced by ginseng extract,the third group was given tap water as control.Non fasting blood sugar was determined once every week or every other week by the micro-method of Folin-Wu. The results indicate that Panax ginseng fed rats appear as susceptible as control animals to the actions of alloxan.This conclusion was based on the fact that the per cent mortality,percentage of rats developing hyperglycemia and the hyperglycemic levels were essentially the same for both groups of animals following a given dose of alloxan.In the first series of experiments,continued oral administration of Panax ginseng gradually lowered the blood sugar of diabetic rats to normal levels and withdrawal of ginseng did not cause hyperglycemia to reappear.In the second series of experiments,the blood sugar levels of the ginseng treated alloxan diabetic rats did not differ significantly from those of the untreated diabetic animals.It appears that the food of the animals made the results of the two series of experiments contradictory.Corn meal,a high carbohydrate diet,was used as food for the animals of the first experiment,whereas in the second series of experiments,the food of the animals consisted of a mixture of fish powder,beans,whole wheat,bone meal,yeast powder,cod liver oil etc...When the high protein diet was replaced by corn meal during the latter half period of the second experiment,the blood sugar levels of the untreated rats increased significantly.No significant change in blood sugar was observed in the ginseng treated animals.It would appear that the action of Panax ginseng on alloxan diabetes varies as the diet of the animals differ in protein and carbohydrate contents.