International Journal of Biomedical And Advance Research ISSN: 2229-3809 (Online) Journal DOI:10.7439/ijbar CODEN:IJBABN IJBAR (2014) 05 (10) www.ssjournals.com Research Article Effect of Moringa oleifera leaf extract on serum lipids and glycaemic control in alloxan induced diabetic albino rats DP. Oparinde 1 , AS. Atiba *2 , OA Ajose 3 , Eludoyin AA 1 and Adesiyan AA 4 1 Department of Chemical Pathology, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria, 2 Department of Chemical Pathology, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. 3 Department of Chemical Pathology, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-ife, Osun State, Nigeria 4 Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria *Correspondence Info: DR. Adeniran Samuel Atiba (MB; BSIL, PGD CARDIFF , FMC Path) Department Of Chemical Pathology, Ekiti State University, PMB 5355, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. Mobile : +2347030454127;+2347086633556 E-mail: atiadesam08@yahoo.com 1. Introduction It has been estimated that about 285 million people in the world were suffering from Diabetes Mellitus (DM) as at 2010 and more than 438 million victims are assumed to be having the disease by the year 2030. 1 Diabetes Mellitus is described as a metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycaemia that may be as a result of inadequate insulin production or insensitivity of body cells to respond to insulin action, or both. This results into not only the disturbance of carbohydrate metabolism but also fat and protein metabolisms 2 . In the absence of early diagnosis and adequate treatment, patients with this disease may suffer from complications like hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic state, kitoacidosis as well as dyslipidaemia 3 . More than 70% of people with Diabetes Mellitus live currently in low and middle income nations, with the proportion in Africa is expected to experience the highest increase 4 . Several attempts have been made to treat and monitor this disease condition. Chemotherapeutic agents, therapeutic life style changes as well as dietary modification have been explored in the past. Despite all these, patients still come down with complications like dyslipideamia 5 . This is one of the reasons why fasting plasma lipid profile is recommended in the course of management of Diabetes Mellitus 5 . Framingham study observed that 13% of men and 24% of women with DM had evidence of dyslipideamia 6 . The use of medicinal plants for the treatment of Diabetes Mellitus is on the increase now, especially in the developing countries. It is becoming a concern to understand the effects of using herbal medicines to control body diseases like Diabetes Mellitus. Moringa tree has been described as a multi-functional plant that is cultivated in tropical regions and being used as a medicinal plant based on its high protein, vitamins, mineral and carbohydrate contents 7,8 . It has high nutritional value for both human and livestock. 8 In view of complications, mortality, increased cost of management and lack of curative treatment for Diabetes Mellitus, the study was designed to look into cost effective and readily available form of management and prevention of complications of DM. Many studies have revealed that the extracts of Moringa oleifera exhibit anti-diabetes agents. However, there has been paucity of experimental study using the crude aqueous extracts; the form in which it is often used in the ethnomedical treatment of Diabetes Mellitus. This work also seeks to evaluate the possible blood sugar lowering and lipid adjustment effects of the aqueous extracts of Moringa oleifera in the alloxan induced diabetic albino rats 2. Materials and Experimental Design Forty four (44) male and female adult healthy Albino rats weighing between 145 and 180g were used for this study; they were nursed under standard conditions in the Animal House of the Department of Biomedical Sciences of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Osogbo, Nigeria and kept on standard rat feed (rat pellet) with tap water. The rats were grouped into three groups (A=23, B=10 and C=11) and each group was kept in separate rectangular shaped cages with dimension 165cm by 55cm, 130cm by 47cm and 129cm by 50cm respectively . The floor areas of cages A, B and C are 9,075cm 2 , 6,110cm 2 and 6,450cm 2 respectively. These cages are 45cm, 43cm and 43cm in height Abstract Objective: To determine the possible effects of aqeous extract of Moringa oleifera on blood glucose and lipid profile in alloxan induced diabetic albino rats. Materials and Methods: Forty four (44) adult healthy Albino rats of both sexes divided into three groups (A=23, B=10 and C=11)were used for this study; they were kept under standard conditions in the Animal House of the Department of Biomedical Sciences of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Osogbo, Nigeria. Diabetes mellitus was induced in rats in groups A and B with 5-day of alloxan administered intraperitoneally. Only rats in group A were given aqueous extracts of Moringa oleifera for a period of nine days. Body weight and fasting blood glucose were checked at 5 th and 14 th day of the experiment. Parameters of lipid profile were determined in rats at day 14. Results: Average fasting blood sugar for groups A, B and C were observed to be 10.10mmol/l, 9.84mmol/l and 4.23mmol/l respectively at day 5. There was a reduction in fasting blood glucose in rats in groups A and C while there was an increase in fasting blood glucose in rats in group B when checked at day 14. Rats in group B (alloxan induced DM without Moringa oleifera supplement) had lowest value of HDL- Chol while their values of LDL-Chol, TC-Chol and Tg were the highest. There was significant lower value of HDL-Chol in group B than rats in Group A (p<0.05) and rats in group C (p<0,05). Conclusion: There was a hypoglycaemic effect of the aqueous extract of Moringa oleifera. It also has capacity to ameliorate dyslipidaemia in diabetic rats. Keywords: Moringa oleifera, Diabete Mellitus, fasting blood sugar, plasma lipid profile