ABSTRACT

 Diabetes mellitus is one ofthe most common chronic global diseases affecting people of all ages in both developed and developing countries. Sustained hyperglycaemia is a common result of uncontrolled diabetes and, over time, can damage the heart, eyes, kidneys, nerves and the blood vessels supplying the organs. This study evaluated the effect of methanol extract of unripe Carica papaya on selected indices ofrenal function in alloxan-induced diabetic rats.Sixteen (16) albino rats were randomly selected and divided into eight (8) groups oftwo (2) rats each. Group 1 (Gpl) served as normal control (non-diabetic and received only feed and water); Gp2 served as negative control (untreated diabetic rats); Gp3 served as positive control (diabetic rats treated with standard drug, glibenclamide); while Gp4 to 8 served as test groups and received 200, 400, 600, 800 and lOOOmg of extract per body weight. All treatments lasted for 28 days. Serum urea and creatinine levels were measured as indices for renal health in the diabetic rats. Results from the study revealed that the groups administered with extracts at 200, 400, 600 and lOOOmg/kg showed a significant decrease (P<0.05) in urea concentration when compared with normal and negative controls.The positive control (44.4±0.56mg/dl)in comparison with negative control (33.0±1.30mg/dl) and normal control (34.4±0.80mg/dl) exhibited an inverse of the result observed by the test groups by increasing level of urea. Similarly, extract-treated groups at 200mg/kg (0.97±0.10mg/dl), 400mg/kg (0.97±0.10mg/dl), 600mg/kg (1.10±0.04mg/dl) and lOOOmg/kg (0.97±0.01mg/dl) significantly (P<0.05) reduced the creatinine levels when compared with the normal control (1.23±0.01mg/dl) and negative control (1.18±0.06mg/dl). These results indicate that the extract possesses some level of ameliorative effect on kidney. This may be largely due to the presence of antioxidant phytochemicals since the pathophysiology of kidney degeneration in diabetics occurs through the generation of oxidative free radicals.