الفهرس 
INTRODUCTION AND AIM OF THE STUDYOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Diabetes mellitus is the eleventh most important cause of premature mortality in Egypt. It’s responsible for 2.4% of life lost. Also, diabetes is the sixth most important cause of disability burden in Egypt. Diabetes mellitus is a multifactorial disease characterized by hyperglycaemia and increased basal metabolic rate. In these conditions, the body does not produce sufficient insulin, a hormone produced by the β pancreatic cells. Insulin enables cells to absorb glucose and convert it into energy.
Diabetes is associated with impaired quality of life. Metformin is an antihyperglycemic drug used in the regulation of diabetes mellitus. Metformin, if not contraindicated and if tolerated, is the preferred initial pharmacologic agent for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
To avoid the harmful side effects of chemical drugs, researchers have investigated natural products such as extracts from Spirulina Platensis that possess antidiabetic effects and contribute to the nutrient requirements, stimulate the endocrine system and intermediate nutrient metabolism.
Spirulina Platensis is belonging to the cyanobacteria family (blue green algae) that is rich in bioactive compounds, such as proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, trace elements (zinc, magnesium, manganese, selenium), pigments phycocyanin, β-carotene, tocopherol and α-linoleic acid. Spirulina Platensis and its extracts are widely used as nutrients for human and animal consumption, natural dyes in food and cosmetics and nutraceutical and food additives for pharmaceutical industries.
Spirulina Platensis has been used since ancient times as a source of food because of its high nutritional value and functional bioactive components. It showed hypocholesterolemic, hypoglycemic and health improvement effects which is gaining attention as a nutraceutical and a source of potential pharmaceutical.
Therefore the main objective of this study was to assess the nutritional composition of Spirulina Platensis and its effects on rats with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
To determine the chemical composition of Spirulina Platensis; total protein, fat, carbohydrates, fibers, vitamins, minerals, essential and nonessential amino acids as well as total antioxidant activity was measured.
To study the effects of Spirulina Platensis on rats with type 2 diabetes mellitus, a total of sixty healthy adult male albino rats of Wistar strain weighing around 120 to 150g were procured from the animal house of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Pharos University. The animals were housed under laboratory conditions (relative humidity 85±2%, temperature 22±1°C and 12h light and 12h dark cycle). Food and water were provided ad libitum. Rats
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were fed with standard rodent pellet diet (Gold Mohar, Lipton - India, Ltd) and distilled water.
Rats were divided into six groups (10 rats in each group) as follows:
group 1: 10 normal healthy control rats.
The remaining fifty rats were considered diabetic; type 2 diabetes was induced by Alloxan. Each rat was injected subcutaneously with double doses of Alloxan, the first dose was 120 mg/kg BW and the second was 60 mg/kg BW. After injection, animals were left for one week until stabilization of diabetes, provided free access for food and water. Animals were checked for the presence of glycosuria. They were considered to be diabetic when glycosuria was present for 3 consecutive days. Hyperglycemic rats were used for the experiment and classified as follows:
group 2: 10 diabetic rats were left without treatment.
group 3:10 diabetic rats were injected orally with Spirulina Platensis 10 mg/kg body weigh.
group 4: 10 diabetic rats were injected orally with Spirulina Platensis 20 mg/kg body weight.
group 5: 10 diabetic rats were injected orally with Spirulina Platensis 30 mg/kg body weight.
group 6: 10 diabetic rats were fed on standard food and were given Metformin (300mg/kg BW) tablets which were crushed and injected orally after being dissolved in water.
At the end of the experimental period (4 weeks), rats were fasted overnight (12-14 hours), anesthetized by diethylether and blood samples were collected, left for 10minutes to clot then centrifuged at 3000 rpm for serum separation. The separated serum sampleswere used for biochemical analysis.
Biochemical parameters were determined including:
1. Body weight.
2. Fasting blood glucose level.
3. Lipid profile (TC, TG, HDL and LDL).
4. Liver functions (ALT, AST)
Data were collected and fed to the computer and analyzed using IBM SPSS software package version 20.0. (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp). Qualitative data were described using number and percent.The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to verify the normality of distribution. Quantitative data were described using range (minimum and maximum), mean, and standard deviation. Significance of the obtained results was judged at the 5% level.
from the previous results, the following can be concluded:
1. Chemical analysis of Spirulina Platensis planted in Egypt showed high nutritional value with high concentration of functional ingredients.
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2. Spirulina Platensis showed high content of proteins. It contains about 56% protien.
3. Spirulina Platensis contains all essential andnon essential amino acids.The essential amino acids found in Spirulina Platensis were Leucine, Phenylalanine, Lysine, Valine, Isoleucine, Threonine, Histidine and Methionine. While non-essential amino acid foundin Spirulina Platensis were Histidine, Glutamic acid, Arginine, Aspartic, Alanine, Tyrosine, Serine, Glycine, Proline and Cystin.
4. Spirulina Platensis is rich in minerals like Calcium, Sodium, Potassium, Phosphorus, Iron, Cupper and Zinc.
5. Spirulina Platensis is rich in vitamins including β Carotene, Vitamin E, Niacin, Riboflavin and Thiamine.
6. Tested doses of Spirulina Platensis significantly decreased blood glucose levels compared to diabetic control. The effect of Spirulina on blood glucose level was dose dependent.
7. Spirulina improved Glucose level better than Metformin.
8. Spirulina Platensis significantly decrease blood cholesterol level in hyperglycemic rats compared to diabetic control.
9. Spirulina was found to be effective in normalizing the triglyceride levels in hyperglycemic rats.
10. Spirulina has significant potential in improving LDL and HDL levels in hyperglycemic rats.
11. Results revealed that the effects of Spirulina and Metformin treatment of diabetic rats markedly lowered TG, TC and LDL levels, and increased HDL level.
12. Treatment with spirulina showed a significant decrease in ALT level, indicating a protective role against liver dysfunctions.
13. A significant reduction in blood urea and creatinine was detected in hyperglycemic rats treated with Spirulina Platensis and Metformin compared to diabetic control rats.
14. There were no significant differences in some parameters between the use of the reference drug (Metformin) and Spirulina.
from the previous conclusions, the following can be recommended:
1. Spirulina Platensis should be included in our daily diet.
2. Increasing people’s awareness about the health benefits of Spirulina is recommended.
3. The use of spirulina parallel with antihyperglycemic drug in a trial to reduce its dose is recommended.
4. Due to the side effects of antidiabetic drug, more attention should be paid for testing more natural antidiabetic agents like Spirulina.
5. Cultivation of Spirulina in Egypt should be promoted.
6. Further studies are needed to evaluate the quality and safety aspects of produced Spirulina.
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CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
from the previous results, the following can be concluded:
1. Chemical analysis of Spirulina Platensisplanted in Egypt showed high nutritional value with high concentration of functional ingradients.
2. Spirulina Platensis showed high content of proteins. It contains about 56% protien.
3. Spirulina Platensis contains all essential and non essential amino acids.The essential amino acids found in Spirulina Platensis were Leucine, Phenylalanine, Lysine, Valine, Isoleucine, Threonine, Histidine and Methionine. While non-essential amino acid foundin Spirulina Platensis were Histidine, Glutamic acid, Arginine, Aspartic, Alanine, Tyrosine, Serine, Glycine, Proline and Cystin.
4. Spirulina Platensis is rich in minerals like Calcium, Sodium, Potassium, Phosphorus, Iron, Cupper and Zinc.
5. Spirulina Platensis is rich in vitamins including β Carotene, Vitamin E, Niacin, Riboflavin and Thiamine.
6. Tested doses of Spirulina Platensis significantly decreased blood glucose levels compared to diabetic control. The effect of Spirulina on blood glucose level was dose dependent.
7. Spirulina improved Glucose level better than Metformin.
8. Spirulina Platensis significantly decrease blood cholesterol level in hyperglycemic rats compared to diabetic control.
9. Spirulina was found to be effective in normalizing the triglyceride levels in hyperglycemic rats.
10. Spirulina has significant potential in improving LDL and HDL levels in hyperglycemic rats.
11. Results revealed that the effects of Spirulina and Metformin treatment of diabetic rats markedly lowered TG, TC and LDL levels, and increased HDL level.
12. Treatment with spirulina showed a significant decrease in ALT level, indicating a protective role against liver dysfunctions.
13. A significant reduction in blood urea and creatinine was detected in hyperglycemic rats treated with Spirulina Platensis and Metformin compared to diabetic control rats.
14. There were no significant differences in some parameters between the use of the reference drug (Metformin) and Spirulina.
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from the previous conclusions, the following can be recommended:
1. Spirulina Platensis should be included in our daily diet.
2. Increasing people’s awareness about the health benefits of Spirulina is recommended.
3. Due to the side effects of antidiabetic drug, more attention should be paid for testing more natural antidiabetic agents like Spirulina.
4. The use of Spirulina Platensis in parallel with the diabetic drug in a trial is recommended to reduce the side effect of the drug.
5. Grown areas of Spirulina in Egypt should be increased.
6. Further studies are needed to evaluate the quality and safety aspects of produced spirulina.