Background: S. surattense is widely used in Siddha medicine for various ailments. Objective: To evaluate the impact of alcoholic leaf-extract of S. surattense on mitochondrial enzymes in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats and study in vitro muscle glucose uptake on L6 myotubes. Materials and Methods: Diabetes was induced and rats treated with extract (100 mg/kg) for 45 days. Biochemical, histopathological, antioxidant assays and in vitro glucose uptake tests were performed. Results: Diabetic rats showed decreased liver mitochondrial enzyme activity, increased TBARS and reduced antioxidants. Treatment reversed these changes. Histopathology also improved significantly with extract. In vitro, the extract increased glucose uptake and GLUT-4 mRNA expression. Conclusion: Study strongly supports anti-diabetic nature of S. surattense. © 2017 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.