2.9. Induction of Diabetes

Alloxan (2,4,5,6-tetraoxypyrimidine; 5,6-dioxyuracil) was administered to induce diabetes. Before alloxan administration, the mice have been subjected to sixteen hours of fasting. Fresh alloxan solution was prepared using normal saline (0.9%) and administered intraperitoneally at the dose of 150 mg/kg according to previous studies [26–28]. The mice were screened for glucose levels after 72 hours of alloxan administration. Animals with fasting blood glucose levels >200 mg/dl were included in the study as diabetic mice [28–30]. After the screening, diabetic mice were randomly allocated to the different test groups.