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Background & Objective: Peganum harmala has emerged as a promising antidiabetic medicine. There is no study regarding the impact of P. harmala concentration on the insulin secretion, C-peptide secretion, and glucose uptake. We investigated the effect of different concentrations of methanolic extracts of P. harmala seed and leaf on insulin and C-peptide secretion, and glucose uptake. Materials & Methods: After the cell passaging, pancreatic carcinoma cell line (PANC-1) and HT1080 were treated with different concentrations of seed and leaf extract of P. harmala, harmine, and ghrelin agonists. The MTT was employed to assess the cell survival at the selective doses, and using a spectrophotometer, the absorbance was determined at 570 nm. After 72-h treatment, the insulin and C-peptide secretion were measured by ELISA. To measure the intracellular glucose concentrations after treating muscle carcinoma cell lines, glucose oxidase method was utilized. Results: P. harmala seed and leaf extracts increased the secretion of insulin and Cpeptide in a dose-dependent manner compared to ghrelin and harmine. These extracts increased the intracellular glucose concentration at high doses (150 and 1500 µg/ml for the seed and leaf extract, respectively) of HT1080 cell line. However, their high concentration was toxic and reduced the cell survival. The methanolic extracts of seed showed a higher insulin (17.5-fold) and C-peptide (7.8-fold) secretion compared to the leaf methanolic extracts. Conclusion: Due to the presence of β-carbolines, the P. harmala seed extract has toxicity and affects insulin secretion and C-peptide uptake secretion at lower concentrations than those of leaf extract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Many attempts have focused on controlling the progression of beta-cell destruction due to diabetes apoptosis. Therefore, any treatment with the least side effects inhibiting the progression of apoptosis and the destruction of the islets of Langerhans is valuable. This survey is the first one to compare the anti-apoptotic effect of the Peganum harmala seed extract with that of harmine in rats. Materials and Methods: To this end, six equal groups (n=8) of rats (250-300 g) were selected in this experimental study. The diabetes condition was induced by the intraperitoneal administration of streptozotocin (STZ) (65 mg/kg). The methanolic extract of P. harmala seeds and harmine were gavaged to healthy and diabetic rats. The active substances of P. harmala were investigated by the highperformance liquid chromatography method. Flow cytometry was also employed to evaluate the apoptosis of beta cells. Hematoxylin and eosin and argyrophilic nucleolar organizer region staining were applied to examine pancreatic tissues. Results: The obtained results from treatment with the seed extract and harmine were similar in the treatment groups. This treatment elevated plasma insulin levels while reducing plasma glucose levels and apoptosis (P < 0.05). Finally, staining results showed that the seed extract could improve tissue damage more than harmine (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Our findings revealed that the seed extract of P. harmala is more effective in controlling diabetes and apoptosis due to diabetes compared to its active ingredient, namely, harmine. This feature seems to be due to its high percentage of antioxidants together with β-carboline compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]