Diabetes mellitus is a complex metabolic disorder characterised by impaired glucose tolerance and hyperglycemia, which is caused by either lack of or resistance to insulin in tissues; this disease causes significant morbidity and mortality largely due to its end-organ complications. Traditional treatment of diabetes mellitus has involved the use of several plant extracts; in this study the efficacy of aqueous leaf extract of Vernonia amygdalina (VA) was sought as a treatment module for alloxan induced diabetic rats. The aqueous leaf extract of VA was administered in three (3) different doses (40, 80 and 120 mg/kg) to non-diabetic and alloxan-induced diabetic rats. The body weights of the experimental animals were taken along with blood samples collection at baseline, on 7 th , 14 th and 21 st days; thereafter the blood glucose and serum lipid levels were determined. The aqueous leaf extract of VA showed statistical significant (p<0.05) reduction of blood glucose, serum triglyceride and cholesterol, as well as body weight in both non-diabetic and alloxan-induced diabetic rats. This study showed that aqueous leaf extract of VA administered at different doses contains anti-hyperglycemic and lipid lowering activities, with 80 mg/kg body weight dosage appearing to be the minimum effective dose; suggesting that aqueous leaf extract of VA is likely to contain actives that could be important in the control of blood glucose and serum lipid levels in diabetics.
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