ABSTRACT

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder that is gradually becoming a global health burden affecting 10% of the total world population and leading to an increase in the search of herbal hypoglycemic agents as alternative to synthetic ones. The present study was aimed at evaluating the effects of saponin extract from Vernon Ia colorata on blood glucose and lipid profile in albino rats. Doses of 50 and 1 00mg/kg body weight of the extract were administered orally once in two days for 28 days, the fasting blood glucose levels were determined at the end of every week. After 28 days, animals were sacrificed and sera samples were assayed spectrophotometrically for lipid profile analysis. The study showed a significant reduction (p<O.OS) in the fasting blood sugar levels in saponin administered groups receiving 50mg/kg, from 88.00±8.33mg/di (first week) to 64.33+6.64mg/di (fourth week) and a reduction from 86.00±4.69mg/di (first week) to 65.33+8.39mg/di (fourth week) of 1 00mg/kg administered extract relative to the control receiving normal saline. There was a significant (p<O.05) decrease in serum concentration of total cholesterol (rng/dl) in group administrated 50mg/kg saponin extract (98.91±2.96) and groups administered 100mg/kg saponin extract (83.84±4.33) relative to control group (130.83±4.98). Triacyiglyceride concentration (mg/dl) also decreased (p<O.05) significantly in groups administered 50mg/kg (94.80±1.89) as well as the 100mg/kg administered group (85.75±2.39) relative to the control group (126.50±4.0). LDL-cholesterol concentration (rng/dl) decreased significantly (p<O.05) in group administered 50mg/kg extract (31.63±2.5) and 100mg/kg administered extract (28.44±1.33) compared to the control (49.27±3.02). I-IDL-cholesterol concentration (mg/dl) in 50mg/kg extract administered group showed no significant (p>0.05) decrease (52.22±7.36) relative to control (56.28±4.08). The study also showed that saponin extract had no significant (p>O.05) decrease in the relative organ weight of the experimental animals but a significant (p<O.05) decrease in the animal weight. The findings are indicative that an anti-nutritional component of Vernonia colorata, saponin, is responsible for the hypoglycemic and hypochoisterolemic effect observed in the experimental animals and thus, can provide the scientific rationale for the use of Vernonia colorata as anti-diabetic agent and dyslipidernia associated with diabetes mellitus.