ANTIHYPERGLYCEMIC AND ANTIHYPERLIPIDEMIC EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT FRACTIONS OF STEVIA REBAUDIANA LEAVES IN ALLOXAN INDUCED DIABETIC RATS

The present study carried out to investigate the antihyperglycemic, oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and antihyperlipidemic (Total cholesterol and triglycerides) effects of the different fractions (Petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and chloroform) of ethanolic extract of Stevia rebaudiana leaves. The different fractions of the extract were administered orally as a single dose of 150 mg/kg body weight to alloxan induced hyperglycemic rats and found to reduce blood glucose level significantly (p<0.05). The different fractions resulted in the significant reduction of lipid content which was increased in hyperglycemic rats. The plant fractions also improve the glucose tolerance in the glucose induced rats. The effects of plant fractions were compared with standard drug metformin. The phytochemical screening tests indicated that the different constituents such as saponins, tannins, triterpines, alkaloids, flavonoids and glycosides etc. were present in the plant which has antidiabetic and hypolipidemic properties. Thus, this investigation paves the way for plant based antihyperglycemic and antihyperlipidemic treatment and indicates that various fractions (Petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and chloroform) of the ethanolic extract of Stevia rebaudiana leaves have favorable effect in bringing down the severity of hyperglycemia, enhancing antihyperlipidemic activity and also improving glucose tolerance activity.