ABSTRACT

Ficus glumosa called "African rock fig" is a large tree indigenous to Southern part of Nigeria. Its stem bark has been of interest to researchers because of its uses in the treatment of various disease conditions in Nigeria traditional medicine. This study was aimed at evaluating the effect of methanolic extract of F. glumosa stem bark on liver function of alloxan-induced diabetic rats .A total of forty (40) wistar albino rats was randomly grouped into five groups A-E. Group A (negative control, 1 0mg/kg of distilled water),Group B(positive control,2mg/kg of glibenclamide),Group C-B received 62.5,125,250 mg/kg of F. glumosa extract respectively and there were treated daily for fourteen (14) days. The serum level of AST, ALT, ALP, total protein, albumin, total bilirubin and globulin was determined 24 hours after the last treatment. The negative control (distilled water treated) group had elevated level of ALT and AST (150.57 and 261.67 respectively) when compared to other treatment groups, whereas the ALP activity (127.82) of the negative control groups was significantly (p< 0.05) lower when compared to the negative control group. The total protein, albumin and globulin serum levels of all the treatment groups did not vary significantly (p > 0.05).The total bilirubin level 0.33, 1.13 and 1.33 of the extract (62.5, 125 and 250 mg/kg respectively) treated groups was significantly (p < 0.05) lower when compared to the negative control. This study, showed that the methanolic extract of F. - glumosa stem bark possess some hepatoprotective properties.