The Effect of Cortex Lycii on Rattus norvegicus’ Blood Glucose Level Using a High Glucose Diet

Abstract

One of the primary problems in the United States is diabetes. Cortex Lycii is an herb from Asia mostly used in traditional Chinese medicine. Although its main purpose is not for lowering blood glucose levels, there are studies on Cortex Lycii with other substances which have proven it can lower glucose level in type 2 diabetes rat. Unlike other experiments, this experiment only used Cortex Lycii as a single unit to see if there was any effect on blood glucose level. Also an observation was done on if Cortex Lycii could reduce blood glucose level after ingesting a high glucose diet. Rattus norvegicus was used in this project and in order for the subject to consume Cortex Lycii, the herb was boiled and the liquid was given for consumption. In order to increase the rats’ glucose levels, corn syrup and white sugar were added to the mixture. The data showed significant decrease of blood glucose when Cortex Lycii liquid was ingested. This research has shown that Cortex Lycii can be a potential treatment for hyperglycemia or diabetes. With further research, there can be an alternative treatment rather than injecting external hormones (Insulin).