**6. Conclusion**

While the antidiabetic effect of the extract may derive from its hypoglycaemic effect, the mechanisms of the hypoglycaemic effect are yet to be elucidated. The hypoglycaemic effect in normal and diabetic rats suggests an insulin-like effect probably mediated via peripheral glucose consumption (De Sousa et al., 2004; Zanatta et al., 2007). Also, postprandial hyper‐ glycemia is related to postprandial hyperinsulinemia (Wang et al., 2004) and its suppression by the extract suggests an insulin-like effect. Phytochemical analysis of the extract revealed the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, glycosides and tannins which are typical plant constit‐ uents. Thus there are chances that any of these constituents may possess anti-diabetic prop‐ erties. The histological studies also indicated that 0.2mg/kg of glibenclamide produced some histological changes whereas the 200 and 400 mg/kg doses of the plant extracts did not pro‐ duce any histological change. This showed that this plant is not only effective as medicinal agent but also has high safety margin.

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