Biochemical and Immunological Study on the Effects of Barley and its Components as Hypoglycemic Agents in Diabetic Rats

The present study was carried out to investigate the hypoglycemic effect of barley (Hordeum vulgare L) and some of its components such as amino acids (L-leucine and L-glutamine) and chromium picolinate on some biochemical and immunological parameters of alloxan induced diabetic rats. Alloxan-diabetic rats were treated with barley water (10% w/v) at a dose 10 ml Kg^-1 b.wt., chromium picolinate at 15 µg Kg^-1 b.wt., L-leucine plus L-glutamine at 4.5 mg & 15 mg Kg^-1 b.wt., and/or the combination of barley plus chromium plus L-leucine and L-glutamine at the same previous doses in the same water volume, respectively. Rats received the treatments in their drinking water for four weeks. The levels of glucose, immunoglobulin G (IgG), total lipids (TL), cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) were significantly (P<0.05) increased, while high-density lipoprotein (HDL) decreased in plasma of alloxan-diabetic rats compared to control group. The activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), acid phosphatase (AcP) and alkaline phosphatase (AlP) were significantly (P<0.05) decreased in both plasma and liver of alloxan-diabetic rats. On the other hand, the activity of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) decreased in plasma and increased in liver of alloxan-diabetic rats. Treatment of the diabetic rats with repeated doses of any one of the three treatments alone could restore the changes of the above parameters to their normal levels after four weeks of treatment. However, treatment with the combination of all together did not show complete restoration. Furthermore, the electron microscope results were supported biochemical and immunological findings. The present results showed that barley, amino acids and chromium picolinate exerted antihyperglycemic effects and consequently may alleviate liver damage caused by alloxan-induced diabetes.