ABSTRACT
The present study evaluated the capacity of a polyherbal antidiabetic drug sold in Nigeria to reverse hyperglycemia in experimental diabetic rats, as well as its effect on body weights and visceral organ weights. The visceral organ weights and body weights were used as indicators of the polyherbal antidiabetic drug’s ability to reduce systemic toxicity, visceral organ inflammation or necrosis, and body tissue wasting in alloxan-induced diabetes mellitus (DM) rats. A total of 36 male Wistar rats were divided into six (6) groups of six (6) rats each. Group 1 was the normal rats group; Group 2 was the untreated diabetic rats group, Group 3 was treated with 500 mgkg-1 body weight (b.w.) of the antidiabetic drug, metformin; Groups 4, 5 and 6 were treated with 2 mlkg-1, 4 mlkg-1 and 8 mlkg-1 b.w. of the polyherbal drug, respectively. Diabetes mellitus (DM) was induced in the rats by a single intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of 150 mg/kg b.w. of alloxan monohydrate. The rats with fasting plasma glucose concentration (FPGC) > 110 mg/dL for 5 consecutive days were considered diabetic and treated with the polyherbal antidiabetic drug for 21 consecutive days. Fasting plasma glucose concentration of the rats were measured according to standard methods. The identification and characterization of phytocomponents from the polyherbal antidiabetic drug were carried out using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The polyherbal antidiabetic drug contained therapeutic doses of antidiabetic bioactive compounds with antioxidant efficacy, namely hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester; octadecanoic acid, 17-oxo-, methyl ester; oleic acid; methyl stearate; hexadecane; heptadecane; and 1-octadecene. Higher doses of the polyherbal drug, 4 ml/kg and 8 ml/kg b.w., exerted better glycemic control, exemplified by reductions in fasting plasma glucose concentrations, than the lower dose of 2 ml/kg b.w. of the polyherbal drug. There was a significant increase (p<0.05) in the body weights of the DM rats in the group treated with 2 ml/kg b.w. of the polyherbal diabetic drug. Two (2) ml/kg b.w. polyherbal drug-treated group exhibited a significant increase (p<0.05) in liver weight, whereas there were no profound changes (p>0.05) in the weights of their heart and kidney. In conclusion, higher doses of the polyherbal drug exerted better glycemic control than the lower dose. The polyherbal antidiabetic drug caused an increase in body and liver weights without causing any weight change on the kidney and heart in diabetes mellitus condition.
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