ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIHYPERGLYCEMIC PROPERTIES OF STERCULIA SETIGERA ROOT BARK EXTRACT ON ALLOXAN MONOHYDRATE-INDUCED WISTAR RATS

Diabetes has racked serious havoc on human lives, and efforts to find a cure/remedy have extended to the use of traditional materials, especially from the plant kingdom. Therefore, the present study investigated the antioxidant and antihyperglycemic properties of S. setigera root bark. The plant material was obtained from the wild and gave a good yield of extract (25.12%) through cold maceration. Thirty Wistar rats weighing between 70 and 140 g were used in the antihyperglycemic study. The animals were divided into six groups of five rats per group. 25 rats were made diabetic through intraperitoneal (i.p) injection with 120 mg/kg of 150 mg alloxan monohydrate constituted in normal saline. Three groups of diabetic rats were treated oragastically with the extract 300 mg/kg, 750 mg/kg, and 1000 mg/kg). One group was left untreated and served as the diabetic control; the other was treated with the standard drug glibenclimide. The results showed a significant (p > 0.005) reduction in blood glucose level compared with the diabetic control. The extract was also active against ABTS and DPPH oxidants and reversed lipid parameters associated with diabetes. This indicated that the extract could be a potent drug source for the management of diabetes mellitus.