Antidiabetic and antihypercholesterolemic activities of Citrus sinensis peel: in vivo study

Abstract

Background: Fruit peels are still regarded as useless materials and wastes; however, the chemical content in these fruit peels have pharmacological activities. Aims and Objective: To determine the in vivo antidiabetic and antihypercholesterolemic activities of sweet orange fruit peels extract. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted based on pre- and posttesting groups design with control. Twenty-five rats were divided into five groups—group I, negative control (0.5% CMC-Na); group II, positive control (glibenclamide and simvastatin); groups III, IV, and V were given sweet orange peel extract doses of 125, 250, and 500 mg/kg body weight (BW), respectively. For the antidiabetic study, the rats were induced by alloxan monohydrate (150 mg/kg BW intraperitoneally), and the blood glucose levels 4 days later were ± 200 mg/dL, which is a diabetic condition. Meanwhile, a hypercholesterolemic study was carried out by providing by a high-fat feed and feed high-fat diet to achieve blood cholesterol levels at values > 130 mg/dL. Result: The study showed that the sweet orange peel extract of these doses could reduce blood glucose levels with decreasing values of 39.24% ± 4.96%, 46.18% ± 6.60%, and 61.36% ± 5.57% in groups III–V, respectively. The most interesting feature was the activity of extracts in lowering blood cholesterol levels, which was almost similar, with the value around 55%, and this activity was higher than cholesteramine (800 mg/kg BW), for which the value was 34.20% ± 10.48%. Conclusion: The extract of Citrus sinensis peels with dose of 500 mg/kg BW showed the highest antidiabetic and antihypercholesterolemic activities in rats models.