Ameliorative Effect of Ethanolic Extract of Cocos nucifera Husk on Oxidative Stress Damage in Streptozotocin-induced Diabetic Rats

Background: Natural products and traditional medicines are an alternative route to the current synthetic drug prescription in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. The aim of this study was to investigate the ameliorative effects of oxidative stress damage using the ethanolic extract of Cocos nucifera husk (EECNH) in a context of STZ-induced diabetic rats. Method: One hundred female Wistar rats (180-200g) were randomly distributed into ten groups of n=10. Group A was des-ignated as a non-diabetic control group, and groups B to H were the high-fat diet and streptozotocin-induced diabetic groups. Concurrently, Groups I and J were diabetic-free groups treated with doses of extracts 125mg/kg and 1000mg/kg, respective-ly. After eight weeks of a high-fat diet, diabetes was induced by injecting a single dose of Streptozotocin (40mg/kg) intraperi-toneally. Later, after verification of diabetes on the 72nd hour post-induction of diabetic status, group B received no treat-ment, while group C was treated with 75mg/kg metformin. Treatment with the plant extract at variable doses of 125, 250, 500, 750, and 1000mg/kg was received by groups D to H, BW for 21 days. Results: Oral administration of EECNH in all concentrations compared to untreated diabetic rats after 21 days showed in-creased fasting blood glucose levels, significant reduction in serum concentration of urea, uric acid, and creatinine, and an elevation in concentration of albumin in treated rats, at p<0.05. The antioxidant findings showed remarkable increases (p<0.05) in SOD, catalase, GSH content alongside decrease in the level of MDA of diabetic rats administered the EECNH compared to the untreated diabetic rats with the maximum effects at dosages of 125 and 750 mg/kg BW. Conclusion: This study suggests that EECNH effectively ameliorates kidney injury and oxidative stress characteristic of STZ-induced diabetes mellitus. Therefore, it has been demonstrated that EECNH is an effective extract exhibiting both anti-hyperglycemic and antioxidant activity in rats, suggesting its potential for further investigation