Background: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease with life-threatening complications. Metformin and acarbose are two oral antidiabetic drugs.
Objectives: This experimental study was designed and carried out at the Arak University of Medical Sciences in Arak, Iran, to investigate the effects of these drugs (both alone and in combination) on glycemic control, lipid profile, and serum visfatin levels in nicotinamide/streptozotocin type 2 diabetic rats.
Materials and methods: Type 2 diabetes was induced in 30 male Wistar rats by the administration of streptozotocin (STZ) (60 mg/kg body weight) intraperitoneally (IP) 15 minutes after the IP administration of nicotinamide (110 mg/kg body weight). After one week, the diabetic rats were randomly divided into four groups. Three diabetic groups were treated with 150 mg/kg/day of metformin, acarbose (40 mg/100 g of diet), or a combination of the two for six weeks, respectively. Biochemical parameters, including fasting blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin, lipid profile, insulin, and visfatin were assessed and compared with those of the control diabetic group.
Results: The data showed metformin, acarbose, and acarbose + metformin downregulated visfatin levels in diabetic rats, but only the reduction in metformin-treated rats was significant (162 ± 21.7, 195.66 ± 6.45 (ng/l), P = 0.001). Fasting blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin decreased significantly in all treated rats, specifically in the treated group that received the two drugs in combination. The serum insulin level was also reduced in all treated groups, and it was significant in the acarbose (P < 0.05) and the combination therapy groups (P < 0.05). The lipid profile improved in all treated groups.
Conclusions: Compared with acarbose or metformin monotherapy, the addition of acarbose to metformin had superior antihyperglycemia efficacy and provided an efficacious and safe alternative for the treatment of type 2 diabetic rats. Acarbose/metformin reduced the fasting blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin without significant changes in serum visfatin levels.
Keywords: Acarbose; Diabetes Mellitus Type 2; Metformin; Rats; Visfatin.