Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus Stapf) tea is a widely consumed beverage for nourishment and the remedy of diabetes mellitus (DM) in Africa locally. The aim of the present study was to investigate the antidiabetic action of lemongrass tea (LGT) in a type 2 diabetes (T2D) model of rats. The fructose-streptozotocin (STZ) animal model for T2D was used and the LGT was prepared by boiling for 10 min in water, allowed to cool and administered at 0.25 or 0.5% (ad libitum), for 4 weeks to the T2D rats. The LGT showed higher phytochemical contents compared to the cold-water extract. The diabetic untreated animals exhibited significantly (p < 0.05) higher serum glucose and lipids, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index with a significantly lower (p < 0.05) levels of serum insulin, β-cell function (HOMA-β) and liver glycogen compared to the normal animals. Oral supplemented of LGT for 4 weeks improved these changes comparable to the metformin treated group. The data suggests that LGT intake had excellent antidiabetic effect in a T2D model of rats attributed to the higher content of the ingredients.

中文翻译：

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柠檬草（Cymbopogon citratus Stapf ）茶在2型糖尿病大鼠模型中的作用。

柠檬草（Cymbopogon citratus Stapf）茶是一种在非洲当地广泛用于营养和治疗糖尿病（DM）的饮料。本研究的目的是研究柠檬草茶（LGT）在2型糖尿病（T2D）大鼠模型中的抗糖尿病作用。使用用于T2D的果糖-链脲佐菌素（STZ）动物模型，并且通过在水中煮沸10分钟，使其冷却并以0.25或0.5％（随意）的方式向T2D大鼠施用LGT来制备LGT。与冷水提取物相比，LGT显示出更高的植物化学含量。未经治疗的糖尿病动物的血糖和脂质水平明显升高（p <0.05），胰岛素抵抗（HOMA-IR）指数升高，血清胰岛素水平明显降低（p <0.05），β细胞功能（HOMA-β）和肝脏糖原与正常动物相比。与二甲双胍治疗组相比，口服补充LGT 4周可改善这些变化。数据表明，在大鼠的T2D模型中LGT摄入具有出色的抗糖尿病作用，这归因于该成分的含量较高。