Abstract
The hypoglycemic and metabolic effects of Commelina communis L. extract were investigated in alloxan induced diabetic rats. The increased blood glucose level in the diabetic rats was significantly reduced and the loss of body weight was recovered with the treatment of the plant protein fractions($30{\sim}70%$ ammonium sulfate precipitates). Administration of the plant protein fractions elicited the significant increase of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-P DH) activity and liver weight which were decreased in the diabetic rat liver. G-6-P DH was partially purified from extract- or insulin-treated diabetics, diabetic control, and normal rat liver and studied for the biochemical properties. The $K_m$ value(9.002 mM) of diabetic rat liver enzyme was greatly higher than that (0.033 mM) of normal enzyme indicating the affinity of enzyme for the substrate was significantly reduced in the diabetic rat liver. This reduced affinity of enzyme for the substrate in the diabetic rat was recovered in the extract- or insulin-treated rat liver enzyme having 0.164 or 0.208 mM of their $K_m$ values, respectively. Although there was no significant difference in the optimum pH(6.0) and optimum temperature($37^{\circ}C$) of enzyme among the experimental groups, the dependence of their activities on pH appeared to be slightly resistant in the extract- or insulin-treated group compared to the diabetic group. In order to investigate the antigenicity of rat liver enzyme among experimental groups, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was carried out by using anti-G-6-P DH anti-serum. Absorbance(0.102) shown in the normal rat liver was reduced even below zero in the alloxan-diabetic rat liver, but increased again in the extract- or insulin-treated rat liver(0.096 or 0.118, respectively). The result of this study suggested that G-6-P DH may be used as a marker enzyme to diagnose and to indicate the progress of the diabetics, and the hypoglycemic effect of the extracts of Commelina communis L. was certainly associated with action or mode of G-6-P DH on the rat liver.