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Background: Diabetes mellitus is a multifacial endocrine disease that affects many organs in the body like cardiovascular system, liver, kidneys, nervous system and the eyes. Insulin therapy and the use of antidiabetic drugs have helped tremendously in the management of this disease but produce side effects like cardiovascular disease and weight gain. Local diabetics allegedly use extracts of Emilia sonchifolia leave in treatment of diabetes, hence, we deem it necessary to investigate the effects of the alkaloidal extract of the leave on glucose, cholesterol and triacylglycerol levels in dihtizone- induced diabetes.
Methods: Dithizone (5mg/dl) was used to induce a partial destruction of the pancreas. Dithizone- induced diabetic rats were divided into five groups (A-E). The rats were treated with 16, 32, 48mg of extract/kg body weight, 48mg/kg of chlorpropamide (positive control) and 5mls of normal saline(negative control) for groups A, B, C, D and E respectively for 6, 12, 18 and 24hrs.
Results: Dithizone significantly (p<0.05) increased the glucose, cholesterol and triacylglycerol levels by percentage ranges of 32.45-36.55, 13.67-20.78 and 7.62-20.18% respectively. Both the graded concentration of the extract and chlorpropamide reduced the glucose, cholesterol and triacylglycerol levels. The extract however, reduced cholesterol and triacylglycerol levels more than the chlorpropamide and control; while the chlorpropamide reduced the glucose level more than the extract and control.
Conclusion: The alkaloid extract of Emilia sonchifolia seems to have effect on experimental diabetes and its associated lipidemia. Further studies are needed for characterization of the extract and implementation.
