Background and Objectives: Diabetes mellitus is currently a major health problem and one of the most common endocrine diseases in the world especially in many developing countries. Treatment of diabetes have always included the administration of insulin and oral hypoglycemic agents in conjunction with lifestyle modifications. These treatments offer effective glycemic control however present limitations. Hence, traditional anti-diabetic plants have become popular in the management of diabetes mellitus.
Methodology: Diabetes mellitus was induced in 20 Wistar rats using a single injection of streptozotocin (50 mg/kg) administered intraperitonially. The rats were divided into four groups (3-6) of 5 rats each. Rats in group 3-6 received olive oil, 100mg/kg of extract, 200mg/kg of extract and insulin (6IU/kg), respectively. 10 non-diabetic rats were grouped into 1 and 2. They received olive oil and 200mg/kg of extract, respectively for 28 days. At the end of the study, the pancreas were removed and it was subjected tissue preparation.
Results: There was an improvement in the area of pancreatic islets in the groups treated with the extract and insulin. The islet cells in the diabetic group were atrophied with pyknotic and karyolitic cells. The mean number of pancreatic islets, pancreatic diameter and number of beta cells in the extract treated groups were significantly (P<0.05) increased when compared to the untreated diabetic rats.
Conclusion: n-haxane extract of Leptadenia hastata was found to have anti-diabetic and hypoglycemic properties and was also shown to improve the number and size of pancreatic islets in treated animals.