Effect of Paxherbal Bitters on Glucose and Insulin Levels in Male Wistar Rats Fed a High Fructose Diet

A diet high in fructose, leads to a metabolic syndrome, characterized by elevated blood sugar and insulin levels, amongst other metabolic disorders. This study sought to investigate if supplementation with Paxherbal bitters, could counteract the high-fructose diet-induced elevation of blood sugar and insulin levels. Twenty male Wistar rats, each weighing about 200 g, were divided into four groups of 5 rats each: the control, the high-fructose diet with fructose water (HFD+FW), the HFD+FW with Atorvastatin, and the HFD+FW with Paxherbal bitters, groups. After 28 days and an overnight fast, blood samples were collected for analysis of fasting blood sugar and insulin levels using the glucose oxidase and ELISA techniques, respectively. The Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) was calculated and statistical analysis was performed. The HFD+FW group exhibited significantly higher (P<0.05) blood sugar (108.60 ± 1.9 mg/dL), insulin (10.58 ± 0.40 µU/mL), and HOMA-IR (2.83 ± 0.06), compared with the control group. Paxherbal bitters significantly prevented (P<0.05) the rise in blood sugar (49.60 ± 6.36 mg/dL), insulin (5.13 ± 0.07 µU/mL), and HOMA-IR (0.63 ± 0.08) compared with the HFD+FW group. Paxherbal bitters supplementation demonstrated efficacy in preventing elevated blood sugar and insulin levels associated with a high-fructose diet in Wistar rats, suggesting it has a preventive therapeutic benefit.