An extract from date seeds stimulates endogenous insulin secretion in streptozotocin-induced type I diabetic rats | Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007 Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer Open Menu Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007 Home Food Science Publisher Functional Food Center Current Archives About About the Journal Aims and Scope Contact Editing Services Editorial Team Express Peer Review Graphical Abstract Journal Insights Privacy Statement Submissions Announcements Search Search Register Login Home / Archives / Vol. 3 No. 11 (2013): November 2013 / Research Articles An extract from date seeds stimulates endogenous insulin secretion in streptozotocin-induced type I diabetic rats Authors Ahmed F. El Fouhil Department of Anatomy Faculty of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh Aly M. Ahmed Department of Anatomy Faculty of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh Muhammad Atteya Department of Anatomy Faculty of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh Raeesa A. Mohamed Department of Anatomy Faculty of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh Amr S. Moustafa Clinical Biochemistry Unit, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh Hasem H. Darwish Department of Anatomy Faculty of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh DOI: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i11.33 Abstract Background: The efficacy of an extract from date seeds has been tested successfully on the glycemic control of type I diabetes mellitus in rats. A suggestion that date seed extract could stimulate certain cells to differentiate into insulin-secreting cells has been proposed. In order to investigate such a possibility, this study was conducted to measure C-peptide levels in the serum of type 1 diabetic rats treated with date seed extract. Methods: Two hundred rats were divided into 4 groups. Group I served as the control. Group II was given daily ingestions of 10 ml of date seed extract. Groups III and IV were made diabetic by streptozotocin injection and were given daily subcutaneous injections of 3 IU/day of insulin for 8 weeks. Group IV received, in addition, daily ingestions of 10 ml of seed extract. At the end of experiment, blood samples were collected from each rat, and blood glucose and serum C-peptide levels were measured. Results: No significant differences in the means of blood glucose and serum C-peptide levels were observed between groups I (control group) and II (date seed extract-treated control group). Group IV (date seed extract-insulin-treated diabetic group) showed a statistically significant reduction in the mean blood glucose level compared to Group III (insulin-treated diabetic group). The mean serum C-peptide level was significantly higher in group IV compared to group III. Conclusion: Biochemical results suggested an increase in endogenous insulin secretion in the case of type 1 diabetic rats treated with date seed extract, which might be the cause of its hypoglycemic effect. Keywords: Date seed extract; type 1 diabetes; serum C-peptide Downloads [Abstract] [Full Article] Published 2013-11-23 Issue Vol. 3 No. 11 (2013): November 2013 Section Research Articles License Authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the Functional Food Center (FFC) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. Authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. By submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. The Functional Food Center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. About the Journal      Editing Services      Graphical Abstract      Journal Insights        Submissions        Editorial Team       Privacy Statement        Contact        Current        Archives   Open Journal Systems Hosting and Support by: OpenJournalSystems.com