Asian Jr. of Microbiol. Biotech. Env. Sc. Vol. 17, No. (2) : 2015 : 405-408 © Global Science Publications ISSN-0972-3005 INSULIN LEAVES ( SMALLANTHUS SONCHIFOLIUS) DRY EXTRACT IMPROVES BLOOD GLUCOSE AND LIPID PROFILE IN ALOXAN-INDUCED RAT FLORI R. SARI 1 ,*, HARI HENDARTO 2 ,*, ANNISATUL MUQORROBIN 3 , CANDRA AHMAD H.R. 3 , ELZA AMELIA 3 , HERMANSYAH 3 , LARAS RESPATI 3 AND NURMA MAULIDA 3 1 Pharmacology Department, 2 Internal Medicine Department, 3 Undergraduate Medical Study Program, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Islamic State University Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta, Indonesia Key words : Insulin leaves, Smallanthus sonchifolius, Diabetes mellitus, Hyperglycemia, Lipid profile Abstract - Insulin leaves (Smallanthus sonchifolius) have been traditionally used in South America as an anti-hyperglycemic agent, however, the dose, the usage and the duration of these leaves as an anti- hyperglycemic agent is unclear. This work intends to elucidate the impact of insulin leaves dry extract on blood glucose and lipid profile in aloxan-induced rat. Insulin leaves were extracted as dry extract. Aloxan-induced Sprague-Dawley rat were given 300 mg/kg BW insulin leaves dry extract once daily for 14 days. Blood glucose level and body weight were evaluated weekly. Cholesterol level and tryglyceride level were analyzed at the end of the study. Aloxan injection induced hyperglycemic condition in the rat, mimicking diabetic condition. Daily decoction of insulin leaves dry extract for 14 days significantly reduced blood glucose level in aloxan-induced rats. Additionally, cholesterol and tryglyceride level were increased in aloxan-induced rats and daily decoction of insulin leaves dry extract for 14 days significantly reduced these levels. Fourteen days daily decoction of 300 mg/kg BW insulin leaves dry extract improved blood glucose and lipid profile in diabetic rat, suggesting the further potential of insulin leaves as diabetic drug. *Corresponding author’s address : Flori R. Sari, M.D, Ph.D, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Islamic State University Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta, Indonesia E-mail: florirsari@uinjkt.ac.id, floriratnasari@gmail.com (* These authors contributes equally) INTRODUCTION Type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with the inhibition of insulin secretion from pancreatic ß- cells, thus the tissues do not adequately metabolize the glucose, resulting in chronic and progressive hyperglycemia (World Health Organization, 2009). Several studies have shown that hyperglycemia further lead to renal (Garud and Kulkarni, 2014; Elseweidy, 2014; Kitada, et al., 2014), cardiac (Cai, et al., 2002; Lei, et al., 2013) and occular complications (Kim, et al., 2014) by activating many cellullar pathways, suggesting glycemic control as the most important strategy in DM. Anti-diabetic agents of natural products are reccommended by WHO to control glycemic condition and prevent diabetic complications (World Health Organization, 2009). Smallanthus sonchifolius, popularly known as yacon, is a native plant to South America and has been traditionally used as anti-diabetic agents (Lachman, et al., 2003; Valentova, et al., 2006). Recently, yacon has gained increasing popularity in Indonesia for its low glycemic value, mimicking insulin agent, so that they called yacon as daun insulin (insulin leaves). Several studies have shown that parts of yacon, including roots (Oliveira, 2013) and leaves (Honore, et al., 2012; Genta, et al., 2010), give benefit in DM by reducing hyperglycemia and prevent from further complications. Moreover, Habib et al., (2011) have reported that yacon root flour, a natural product rich in fructooligo- saccharides (FOS), gave beneficial effect on diabetes-associated hyperlipidemia by reducing fasting plasma triacylglycerol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Various preparations including roots aqueous extract (Oliveira, et al., 2013), methanol extract (Genta, et al., 2010), buthanol extract (Genta, et al., 2010), chloroform extract (Genta, et al., 2010), yacon flour (Habib, et al., 2011), 10% yacon solution (Honore, et al., 2012) and yacon