Serum lipid levels of experimental diabetic rats treated with leaf extracts of Bryophyllum pinnatum

Abstract

Serum lipid in the blood levels of rats experimentally induced with diabetes mellitus were estimated after 28 days of treatment with ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Bryophyllum pinnatum (BP) leaf. The male Wistar rats were divided into five groups designated as (Normal Control - NC, Diabetic Control - DC, Diabetic Ethanolic Extract - DEE, Diabetic Aqueous Extract - DAE, and Normal Aqueous Extract - NAE). Groups NC and DC rats served as ‘control’ animals receiving food and water only. Groups DC, DEE, and DAE were injected intraperitoneally with 65mg/kgbwt streptozotocin (STZ). Induction of diabetes mellitus was confirmed after 48 hours using glucose test strips. The test rats were all treated with 100mg/kgbwt ethanolic and aqueous leaf extracts of Bryophyllum pinnatumfor 28days. At the end of the 28days, the rats were sacrificed and blood collected for serum lipid profile assay. Induction of diabetes mellitus in groups DC, DEE, and DAE with STZ resulted in hyperglycaemia, hypoinsulinaemia, and increased triacylglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein (LDL), very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) and significantly decreased (P<0.05) high density lipoprotein (HDL). BP treated groups DEE, DAE and NAE showed significant decrease (P<0.05) in elevated blood glucose, TC, TG, LDL, VLDL as compared to the control groups DC and NC. Furthermore, BP treatment significantly increased (P<0.05) serum HDL in the test groups as compared with the control groups. These results established that the inducement produced adverse serum lipid changes in the rats that validate diabetes mellitus as a devastating disease that has claimed many lives if not properly understood and managed.