Effect of Aqueous Leaf Extract of Terminalia catappa (Indian Almond) on the Liver of Alloxan-Induced Diabetic Wistar Rat

Abstract

Different schools of thought believed the Indian almond has antidiabetic and hepatoprotective potentials, however, there is paucity of information on the ability of this plant to carry out its antidiabetic properties. This study therefore seeks to determine the effect of aqueous leaf extract of Indian almond on the liver of alloxan-induced diabetic Wistar rats. Three groups of Wistar rats were used in this study, a normal control, a diabetic control, and a treated group (5 per group). Rats in the normal group were administered distilled water orally per day, rats in the diabetic group were intraperitoneally injected with 150mg/kg body weight of alloxan and administered distilled water orally per day, while rats in the treated group were intraperitoneally injected with 150mg/kg of alloxan and treated orally with 600mg/kg body weight of aqueous leaf extract of Indian almond per day for 21days. Administration of aqueous leaf extract of Indian almond to the diabetic rats caused a significant decrease in the level of blood glucose, activities of alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total bilirubin and conjugated bilirubin (p< 0.05) and a significant increase in the level of total protein and albumin (p< 0.05) when compared with the control groups. The results obtained from this study suggested that the aqueous leaf extract of Indian almond possesses antidiabetic activity and could be used for the management of diabetes and liver damage associated with its metabolic consequences.