Revista Europea de Biología Experimental Acceso abierto

Abstracto

Animal models for biological screening of anti-diabetic drugs: An overview

Manish Pal Singh and Kamla Pathak

Diabetes mellitus is a potentially morbid condition with high prevalence worldwide thus the disease constitutes a major health concern. Presently, it is an incurable metabolic disorder which affects about 2.8% of the global population. The search for compounds with novel properties to deal with the disease condition is still in progress. This makes the use of experimental models for the disease imperative. The current review has attempted to bring together all the reported models, highlighted their short comings and drew the precautions required for each technique. Type-1 diabetes requires insulin treatment, whereas Type-2 diabetes, which is characterized by insulin resistance, can be treated using a variety of therapeutic approaches. Hyperglycemia is thought to be a primary factor in the onset of diabetes, although hyperlipidemia also plays a role. The major organs active in the regulation of blood glucose are the pancreas, liver, skeletal muscle, adipose tissue, intestine, and kidney. The purpose of this review article is to describe the significance of various animal models available for screening of antidiabetic activity.