Abstract

This study examined the antidiabetic effect of hydroethanol (ethanol: water, 50: 50 v/v) extracts of Acanthospermum hispidum root in streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced in rats by the intraperitoneal injection of 60 mg/kg b.w STZ and treated for 21 days with 150, 300 and 600 mg/kg of A. hispidum extract. The fasting blood glucose (FBG) and body weight of animals were taken weekly and the rats were sacrificed at the end of experiment for determination of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), albumin, total proteins, creatinine, urea, triglyceride (TG), HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol (TC), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT). Treatment with extract of A. hispidum at doses of 300 or 600 mg/kg, significantly (p<0.05) caused repression of STZ-induced hyperglycemia in diabetic rats, whereby the antihyperglycemic efficiency at the highest dose (600 mg/kg) was comparable with that of glibenclamide (600 μg/kg). Administration of extract significantly (p< 0.05) decrease the ALT, AST, ALP, TC, TG, VLDL, LDL and MDA levels as well as caused significant increased (p<0.05) in HDL level, SOD and CAT activities in the STZ-induced diabetic rats. Conclusively, the extract of A. hispidum roots possesses antidiabetic, hepatoprotective and antihyperlipidemic effects, which may be due to its phytoconstituents.