Preliminary Study of the Clinical Hypoglycemic Effects of Allium cepa (Red Onion) in Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetic Patients

• Published in: Environmental health insights Vol. 2010; no. 4; pp. 71 - 77
• Main Authors: Eldin, Imad M. Taj, Ahmed, Elhadi M., Abd, Elwahab H.M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publishing 01.01.2010; SAGE Publications; Sage Publications Ltd; Libertas Academica
• Subjects: Allium cepa; Autoimmune diseases; Carbohydrates; Diabetes mellitus; Dietary supplements; Glucose; Ingestion; Insulin; Lipids; Metabolism; Original Research; Proteins; Allium cepa; type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus; diabetic patients; hypoglycemia
• ISSN: 1178-6302; 1178-6302
• DOI: 10.4137/EHI.S5540

Imad M. Taj Eldin1, Elhadi M. Ahmed2 and Abd Elwahab H.M31Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Gezira, Sudan. 2Department of Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Gezira, Sudan. 3Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Research Institute, National Center for Research, Sudan. Abstract Background: Diabetes mellitus is a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by abnormalities of carbohydrate, protein and lipid metabolism. Type 1 diabetes mellitus is an autoimmune disease caused by destruction of pancreatic beta cells and characterized by defect in insulin secretion while type 2 diabetes mellitus results from abnormalities in insulin secretion and/or insulin action or both.Objectives: The present study was conducted to investigate the clinical hypoglycemic effects of Allium cepa in type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients.Results: In assessment of hypoglycaemic activity of Allium cepa in type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients, ingestion of crude Allium cepa (100 g) caused a considerable reduction in fasting blood glucose levels by about 89 mg/dl in relation to insulin (145 mg/dl) in type 1 diabetic patients and it reduced fasting blood glucose levels by 40 mg/dl, compared to glibenclamide (81 mg/dl) in type 2 diabetic patients, 4 hours later. The same dose of crude Allium cepa produced a significant reduction in the induced hyperglycemia (GTT) by about 120 mg/dl compared to water (77 mg/dl) and insulin (153 mg/dl) in type 1 diabetic patients and considerably reduced GTT by 159 mg/dl in relation to water (55 mg/dl) and glibenclamide (114 mg/dl) in type 2 diabetic patients, after 4 hours.Conclusion: It was evident that, crude Allium cepa produced hypoglycemic effects, thus it could be used as a dietary supplement in management of type 1 and/or type 2 diabetes mellitus.