Effect of Vernonia amygdalina and Balanites aegyptiaca Aqueous Leaves Extracts on Blood Glucose Level and Lipid Profile of Streptozotocin Induced Diabetic Rats

This study evaluated the effect of combined treatment of aqueous extracts of Vernonia amygdalina and Balanites aegyptiaca leaves on blood glucose and lipid profile in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. Twenty four (24) Wistar male rats weighing 100-150g were randomly distributed into four groups. The first group served as the normal control while the remaining three groups were induced with diabetes using streptozotocin at 60 mg/kg body weight. Group two served as diabetic control and the remaining groups were treated with the combined extracts and V. amygdalina alone at 500 mg/kg body weight respectively. The rats were treated orally once daily for 28 days. At the end of the experimental period, blood glucose level and lipid profile were measured. The result showed that there was a significant reduction (p<0.05) in the blood glucose level of all the treated groups compared to the diabetic control. The results also showed that HDL-C was significantly increased (p<0.05) in all treated groups compared to the untreated diabetic group. It is concluded that aqueous extracts of V. amygdalina and B. aegyptiaca leaves possess strong hypoglycemic activity with very low antihyperlipidemic activity.