Received 28 April 2015, Accepted for publication 2August 2015

Background & Aims: Diabetes mellitus is one of the major issues of the healthcare systems of all societies. Patients with diabetes mellitus type 1 (insulin-dependent diabetes) have to receive daily injections of insulin in order to maintain a constant normoglycemic condition. Since this method of insulin delivery is so invasive and may end in a variety of mental and physical problems after its long-term usage, many scientists have been trying to find less invasive ways of insulin delivery to these patients. At the present study, the efficiency of transdermal insulin delivery using topical insulin ointment at different concentrations was investigated in hyperglycemic rats.

Materials and Methods: For this purpose, 36 male rats were divided into six groups. The control group was delivered a combination of Ketamin and Xylasine, and the rest were treated with different concentrations of insulin ointment following a Xylazine-induced hyperglycemia, then the effect of the ointment on blood glucose levels was investigated.

Results: Our data showed that high concentration (1.73%) of insulin ointment can be as effective as injectable insulin in decreasing blood glucose levels of hyperglycemic rats.

Conclusion: It is concluded that this way of insulin delivery can be a potential alternative to the conventional injectable method. However, more studies are needed in order to confirm its quality and usage in human models.