Abstract: Objective To explore the mechanism of EP's hypoglycemic effect in alloxan induced diabetic mice.Methods Various doses of EP(200,400,and 800mg/kg bw) were given to 90 mice for 28 days.Fasting blood glucose(FBG),superoxide dismutase(SOD),inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS),total cholesterol (TC),triglyceride (TG),and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol(LDL-C) were measured 28 days after the initial intervention.The expressions of MnSOD mRNA,Bax mRNA,and Bcl-2 mRNA in pancreas were determined with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay.Results The expression of Bax in moderate(0.52±0.14,),high(0.4 g6±0.11) dose of EP intervention groups and metformin group (0.59±0.26) were significantly different compared with those of the model group (P< 0.05 and P<0.01).Compared with that of the model group(0.17±0.13),the expression of Bcl-2 was up-regulated in high dose EP group(0.17±0.13) with significance(P< 0.05).The expression of MnSOD increased in all EP groups (2.63±0.97,2.73±0.87,3.23±0.57,P<0.01).Identical change was also observed in metformin group(1.74±0.73,P< 0.05).Conclusion The results suggest that EP could decrease blood glucose and adjust lipid metabolic disorder.The hypoglycemic effect of EP may be related with the suppression of oxidative stress and apoptosis.