Hypoglycemic Effect Of Concomitant Administration Of Erythromycin And Tolbutamide In Alloxan-Induced Diabetes In Rats

Erythromycin is among the antibiotics that have widespread use for treatment of community and hospital-acquired infections. Although uncommon, hypoglycemia has been reported with erythromycin and appears to occur most frequently in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who are receiving therapy with oral hypoglycemics. The present study was designed to explore the potential effects of erythromycin on glucose metabolism in experimental animals In the present work, alloxan was used to induce diabetes in a dose of 200 mg/kg body weight, intraperitoneally, in rats. The blood glucose level after alloxan was measured. Tolbutamide lowered blood glucose level in normal and hyperglycemic rats. Erythromycin produced lowering of blood glucose level in non diabetic rats and also, significantly potentiated the hypoglycemic action of tolbutamide in diabetic rats.