Antihyperglycemic effect of Sesbania grandiflora seed decoction on streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice: Inflammatory status and the role of interleukin-10

Diabetes is one of the fastest growing diseases in the world: its prevalence is estimated to reach 642 million people, or one-tenth of adults will have diabetes by 2040. Traditional herbal exploration and investigation are needed in order to discover medicines that have potential anti-diabetic activity, with no or lower side effects than the medicines clinically used today. In this research, we investigated the anti-hyperglycemic activity of an aqueous decoction of Sesbania grandiflora seeds in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice, and analyzed the immune responses that occurred during the counter balance process to reach blood glucose homeostasis. Our results revealed that administration of the aqueous decoction (2.5 g/kg BW) could lower the blood glucose levels of diabetic mice from an initial blood glucose level of 435 mg/dl to 213 mg/dl within 18 days of treatment. Analysis of inflammatory markers showed that there was no significant difference in the relative amounts of CD4⁺CD62L⁻, CD8⁺CD62L⁻, TNF-α or IFN-γ between the experimental groups, which revealed that there were no pro-inflammatory responses involved either in hyperglycemia or in the blood glucose lowering process. On the other hand, an increased amount of interleukin-10 in diabetic mice treated with an S. grandiflora seed decoction indicated a role for IL-10 in maintaining blood glucose homeostasis.