Synergistic Antidiabetic Effects of Vernonia amygdalina Leaves and Glibenclamide on Alloxan-Induced Wistar Rats

Purpose: One chronic illness that affects millions of people worldwide is diabetes mellitus. If left untreated, it can hasten the body's degenerative processes. Vernonia amygdalina (V. amygdalina) is used as a vegetable and herb, mostly found in tropical Africa. V. amygdalina is one of the many plants with anti-diabetic properties. The study’s objective was to understand the anti-diabetic activity of V. amygdalina leave’s methanol extract and its synergistic effect with glibenclamide on alloxan-induced rats. Methods: Injection of alloxan monohydrate (160 mg/kg) intraperitoneally (i.p.) led to the induction of diabetes in the Wistar rats. The rats were grouped into five: normal (group 1) and diabetic (group 2) controls, glibenclamide at 2 mg/kg (group 3), 200 and 2 mg/kg of V. amygdalina and glibenclamide (group 4), respectively and methanol extract of V. amygdalina’s 200 mg/kg (group 5). Each treatment was orally. The consequence of V. amygdalina on blood glucose, lipid profile, oxidative stress markers, haematological, and renal function indices was determined by standard methods. Results: At p < 0.05, V. amygdalina extract significantly reduced the fasting blood glucose concentration in alloxan-induced rats relative to untreated/diabetic rats. Group 4 showed relatively lower concentrations of TCL, LDL, VLDL, and TAG compared to group 5. Higher levels of reduced glutathione and catalase was observed in group 4 relative to group 1 and group 5. Equally, a comparatively higher level of malondialdehyde were observed in group 5 than in group 4. In the haematological profile, the extract-treated groups exhibited relative elevation in RBC count, PCV, and Hb concentration compared to group 2. Conclusion: The most promising treatment group is group 4 rats treated with extract and glibenclamide. The results demonstrated that sulphonylurea medications like glibenclamide can increase the potential anti-diabetic impact of V. amygdalina leaves.