ISSN (Online) : 2277-4572
Author(s): Alese Margaret O., Adewole Stephen O., Ijomone Meshack O., Ajayi Sunday A. and Omonisi Abidemi
Diabetes mellitus is characterized by hyperglycaemia and destruction in the microarchitecture of the β-cells of the pancreatic islets of Langerhans. The search for drugs with low cost, more potential and with less adverse effects is continuous. This study investigated the effects of methanolic extract of Sphenocentrum jollyanum on hyperglycemia and the morphological changes on pancreatic β-cells in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats and compared the extract efficacy with glibenclamide, a known antidiabetic drug. Twenty four adult Wistar rats randomly divided into four groups were used. Group A was the control, diabetes mellitus was induced in groups B, C and D by a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (80mg/kg body weight) dissolved in 0.1 M citrate buffer. Group B diabetic rats were untreated while groups C and D received extracts of S. jollyanum (200mg/kg) and glibenclamide (5mg/kg) once daily for two weeks respectively. The result showed a significant fall in blood glucose level with the extract and glibenclamide administration. Histological examination showed recovery of β-cells of the S. jollyanum and glibenclamide treated rats when compared with the diabetic group. There was no significant difference between the effects of the crude extract and the reference drug, glibenclamide.
