The ameliorative activity of Chrysobalanus orbicularis in streptozotocin-induced type II diabetes mellitus rat model

Chrysobalanus orbicularis is a medicinal plant present in West Africa in the Itsekiri speaking part of Nigeria. It is used conventionally in diabetes mellitus management. This research investigates the ameliorative activity of the aqueous leaf extract of C. orbicularis in a streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat model. Freshly prepared streptozotocin (40 mg/kg body weight [BW]) was administered intraperitoneally to induce diabetes. Three diabetic groups were placed on aqueous leaf extract of C. orbicularis at 11.076, 22.134, and 44.268 mg/kg BW respectively; a group was placed on metformin (44.28 mg/kg BW), and the other two groups were the diabetic control and normal control. The experiment lasted for 28 days, thereafter, fasting blood glucose levels and body weight variations were recorded. Also, glycogen level, antioxidant enzyme, hexokinase and glucose-6-phosphatase activities, malonaldehyde (MDA) as well as glucose transporters 2 and 4 levels were analyzed using standard procedures. Diabetic rats administered aqueous extract of C. orbicularis leaf significantly (p < 0.05) decreased the fasting blood glucose and MDA levels, and glucose-6-phosphatase activity. In addition, administration of aqueous extract of C. orbicularis leaf to diabetic rats demonstrated a momentous increase in liver glycogen level, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, reduced glutathione, glutathione transferase, and hexokinase activities as well as GLUT-2 and GLUT-4 levels. The data from this study suggest that the aqueous extract of C. orbicularis leaf may be beneficial in the management of diabetic mellitus and its secondary effects.