1Department of Physiology, College of Health Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nnewi, Nigeria
2Department of Anatomy, College of Health Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nnewi, Nigeria
The aim of this study is to compare the effect of bitter leaf (
A total of 24 adult albino rats were used for the study. The rats were grouped into three groups of eight animals per group. Group A received 0.5 ml of distilled water and served as the control. Group B received 10 mg/kg/body weight of glibenclamide. Group C received 100 mg/kg/body weight of bitter leaf extract. Effect of bitter leaf and glibenclamide were observed at every 2 days for up to 2 weeks.
The result showed that the extract caused a decrease in blood glucose level on the fourth day but this was not statistically significant. Also, glibenclamide caused a decrease in the blood glucose level on the third day; this decrease was not statistically significant but slightly significant on the fourth day. On the sixth day, the extract caused a slightly significant decrease but when compared with the sixth day of glibenclamide, the decrease was very significant. From the eight day to the fourteenth day, the decrease in the blood glucose levels for group B and C became very significant. However, group C (glibenclamide) showed highly significant decrease when compared with group B (extract). Glibenclamide showed significant (p<0.05 or p<0.01) decrease in mean blood glucose level from day 8 to till end (day 14) as compared to bitter leaf extract.
The work suggests that glibenclamide has a more potent hypoglycemic effect in alloxan-induced diabetic wistar rats when compared with the extract and may be more effective in the treatment of diabetics.
Diabetes, alloxan, glibenclamide, Wistar rats, diabetes, Blood glucose, Vernonia amygdalina
