The
antihyperglycemic and hypolipidemic activities of Hibiscus schizopetalus (Mast) Hook (Malvaceae) flower and leaves extracts were investigated in
alloxan-induced diabetic rats. The
hypoglycemic activity of both the extracts (100mg/kg,
body weight) was tested in fasting normal rat,
glucose loaded rats. Observation on
body weight was also recorded. The extracts showed a significant (p<0.001) reduction in
blood glucose level in normal fasting rats. In
glucose tolerance test, significant (p<0.01) decreased observed in all
glucose loaded animals. While in
alloxan induced diabetic rats, the percent
blood glucose reduction was 59.94% and 45.14% in extracts treated groups. The results obtained were compared with the reference standard
drug Tolbutamide (100mg/kg,
body weight). The diabetic rats showed sign of decreased in their
body weight during the treatment period.
Cholesterol and
triglycerides levels were significantly decreased (p<0.001) by HFE. The results obtained demonstrated the potential
hypoglycemic activity of methanolic extracts of H. schizopetalus. There is need of bioassay-directed assay of the active principles responsible for the anti-diabetic activity. The methanolic extracts showed the presence of
carbohydrates,
alkaloids,
steroids,
terpenes,
saponins and
glycosides.