Hypoglycaemic and Hypolipidaemic Effects of Phyllanthus niruri in Streptozotocin-induced Diabetic Rats.

The present study was undertaken to investigate the possible hypoglycaemic and hypolipidaemic effects of aqueous extract of Phyllanthus niruri leaves in Streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes in rats. The acute toxicity studies showed that the extract from the aqueous leaf extract of Phyllanthus niruri produced an LD50 of 516.2mg/kg in rats,by intraperitoneal route. The classes of chemical components of the aqueous extract of the plant were determined. Glycosides, flavonoids, saponins and tannins were found to be present. STZ induction causes a significant elevation in the level of blood glucose and loss of body weight in rats. In this study, we observed that the administration of aqueousextract of P. niruri at doses of 120 and 240mg/kg body weight to diabetic rats not only caused a significant decrease in blood glucose but also had a significant effect in controlling the loss of body weight which occurred during diabetes. The present investigations also confirmed that untreated diabetic rats manifested evidence of lipid abnormalities as indicated by high levels of total- and LDL-cholesterol, triacylglycerols and low levels of HDL-cholesterol, compared to non-diabetic rats (control). The aqueous extract of P. niruri significantly normalized the serum lipids levels. Theseobservations showed that the aqueous extract of P. niruri leaf may have hypoglycaemic and hypolipidaemic effects