PHYSIOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF THE ANTI-DIABETIC PROPERTIES OF Hibiscus sabdariffa ON RATS

Effects of different quantities (75g, 100g and 125g) of Hibiscus sabdariffa leaf, stem and root aqueous extracts and combination of 300g Hibiscus sabdariffa +100g Allium sativum+100g Zingiber officinale on alloxan-induced diabetic Wister albino rats at 1ml/kg/day for17 days were investigated. Body weight and fasting blood glucose level of rats were monitored before and during the experiment. Quantitative analysis of secondary plant products of various parts of the investigated plants was also studied. Results showed that 1ml/kg/day of 75g Hibiscus sabdariffa aqueous extract did not cause significant (p>0.05) sugar reduction compared with basal values as high sugar level was still observed in alloxan-induced rats treated with 1ml/kg /day of 75 Hibiscus sabdariffa leaf (246.00+6.00mg/dl) and stem (207.50+3.50 mg/dl) extracts except root (196.00+1.20mg/dl). Combination of the extracts caused significant (P>0.05) sugar reduction compared with any of the single parts.1ml/kg of 100g Hibiscus sabdariffa leaf extracts ameliorated rats«¤?? weights loss by 14.75%.1ml/kg of 125g Hibiscus sabdariffa leaf, stem and root extracts significantly (p<0.05) reduced the glucose level of diabetic treated rats by 54.08%, 58.95% and 62.44% compared with glibenclamide (22.77%). Phytochemical analysis revealed that flavonoids (0.79mg/g) and alkaloids (0.86mg/g) were significantly higher (p<0.05) in root than in stem and leaf of Hibiscus sabdariffa. The combination 300gHibiscus sabdariffa + 100g Allium sativum 100g Zingiber officinale revealed significantly (p<0.05) higher flavonoids (0.85mg/g), saponins (0.95mg/g) alkaloids (1.81mg/g) and tannins (0.56mg/g). Combination of 300g Hibiscus sabdariffa +100g Allium sativum+100g Zingiber officinale produced the best hypoglycaemic effect (71.05%).ª¤?ª¤