Introduction: In the recent years, herbal preparations have been more used to treat diabetes. Dietetic supplement based on barley and beer yeast enriched with chromium (BBCr) is registered in Serbia as a supplement in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
Objective: To investigate the effect of the preparation based on barley and brewer's yeast with chromium (BBCr), rosiglitazone (R) and their combination (BBCr+R) on fasting glycaemia and glycaemia in mice after glucose, adrenalin and alloxan application.
Methods: The animals were divided into three groups: glucose 500 mg/kg (I); adrenalin 0.2 mg/kg (II); and alloxan 100 mg/kg (III) and into subgroups according to the substance they received (BBCr: 750 mg/kg, R: 0.75 mg/kg and BBCr+R). Each animal was its own control in respect of glycaemia before and after the treatment with test substances, except for group III which contained a placebo subgroup.
Results: BBCr caused a significant decrease of fasting glycaemia and significant reduction of glycaemia after glucose load compared to the values before treatment (7.4 +/- 0.6 mmol/l vs 9.2 +/- 0.6 mmol/l; p=0.01). R and BBCr+R significantly decreased glycaemia after adrenalin load (R: 8.6 +/- 1.8 mmol/l vs 15.4 +/- 3.2 mmol/l; p=0.004; BBCr+R: 9.6 +/- 2.4 mmol/l vs 15.0 +/- 4.4 mmol/l; p=0.04). After alloxan application the glycaemia was significantly lower in the subgroups treated with BBCr, R and BBCr+R compared to placebo subgroup (10.1 +/- 8.0 mmol/l vs 6.8 +/- 2.7 mmol/l vs 13.5 +/- 9.7 mmol/l vs 24.5 +/- 4.7 mmol/l; p=0.001).
Conclusion: Pretreatment with BBCr caused a significant reduction of fasting glycaemia and glycaemia after glucose load. Rosiglitazone and BBCr+R caused a significant reduction of glycaemia after adrenalin load. Pretreatment with BBCr, R and BBCr+R prevented the onset of experimental diabetes caused by alloxan, which was confirmed by histological analysis of pancreas tissue.