Jack fruit, the largest tree born fruit in the world, belongs to the family Moraceae and genus Artocarpus. Various parts of the plant have been reported to possess antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and immunomodulatory properties. The whitish yellow filament like structures present in the fruit is called “rags” which are actually unfertilized flowers that could not develop in to seeds. The rags are widely used in the Indian traditional medicine for the treatment of various ailments. In the absence of systemic reports in the literature, the present study was aimed to evaluate the antidiabetic potential of the Artocarpus heterophyllus rags in high fat diet fed-low dose STZ induced experimental type 2 diabetes in rats. Phytochemical screening of the rag extract was performed. Diabetic rats were treated with Artocarpus heterophyllus rag extract at a dosage of 300 mg/kg b.w daily for 30 days. Metformin (200 mg/kg. b.w) was used as a reference drug. The levels of fasting blood glucose, plasma insulin and HbA1c were also estimated. Intraperitoneal insulin tolerance test was performed. The level of glycogen content in liver tissue was estimated. The activities of serum aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase and alkaline phosphatase were assayed. The rag extract supplementation attenuated the elevated levels of glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, AST, ALT and ALP. The insulin level was improved with an improvement in hepatic glycogen content of insulin resistant diabetic rats. The altered activities of glycogen metabolizing enzymes were normalized upon extract treatment. The rag extract improves insulin sensitivity which is evident from intraperitoneal insulin tolerance test. The results show that the rags of Artocarpus heterophyllus is non toxic and possess significant antidiabetic properties which might be attributed to the presence of biologically active ingredients present in the rags.
