ANTIDIABETIC AND HAEMATOLOGICAL EFFECT OF MYRIANTHUS ARBOREUS P. BEAUV. STEM BARK EXTRACT IN STREPTOZOTOCIN – INDUCED DIABETIC RATS

The increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus worldwide is an issue of major socio-economic concern especially in Sub – Saharan Africa. Indigenous medicinal plants are used for the treatment of diabetes mellitus in most developing countries, like Ghana, but remain to be validated. In the present study, the effect of Myrianthus arboreus ethanol stem bark extract (MAB) (100 – 400 mg/kg) on glucose levels in streptozotocin (STZ) (45 mg/kg) induced diabetic rats was investigated using glibenclamide 5 mg/kg/day as the positive control. The effects of the extract on body weight, total protein, serum urea, serum creatinine, bilirubin, lipid profile, haematological indices and serum markers for liver function in normal, treated and untreated diabetic rats were also investigated. Induction of the diabetes in Sprague Dawley rats (150-200 g) resulted in increased levels of serum glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL-cholesterol but decreased body weight, serum HDL-cholesterol and haemoglobin levels. Administration of the extract at the three dose levels resulted in significant (P<0.001) reduction in the levels of plasma glucose, cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides and serum urea and serum creatinine. Alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) levels were also significantly (P<0.001) decreased. The significant decrease in body weight, total protein and HDL-cholesterol which were observed in STZ-induced diabetic rats were normalized after 28 days treatment with the extract. At 200 mg/kg/day, MAB recorded significant (P<0.01) reduction in plasma glucose levels compared to glibenclamide (5 m/kg/day). Thus MAB shows significant hypoglycaemic and antihyperlipidaemic activities in STZ-induced diabetic rats justifying its use in traditional medicine