Subacute Toxicity and Hepatoprotective Effects of Sarcocephalus latifolius in Alloxan Induced Diabetic Rats

Various studies suggest that mortality due to liver disease in diabetic patients is very high; however, the recognition of DM as the primary cause of chronic liver disease is neglected in medical practice, we therefore evaluated the activities of Sarcocephalus latifolius leaf powder on the liver function of alloxan – induced diabetic rats. Forty-five healthy female albino rats were randomly assigned into 9 different groups; diabetes was induced intraperitonealy with 160 mg/kg of alloxan. Normal and diabetic rats were administered orally with 300, 600, 750 mg/kg/ b.w of S. latifolius. After 28 days, the animals were sacrificed for biochemical and histological studies.

The body weight of the normal and diabetic rats increased significantly with S. latifolius treatment, the increase observed in the blood glucose was brought down upon treatment with S. latifolius leaf powder. The activity of ALT increased significantly with 750 mg/kg of S. latifolius leaf powder, while low dose of the plant decreased it significantly in diabetic rats. GGT activity only decreased in the diabetic rats treated with 300 mg/kg of S. latifolius whereas albumin increased significantly (p<0.05) in all the groups administered S. latifolius powder relative to the untreated diabetic group. Bilirubin concentration only increased significantly (p<0.05) in the group administered 750 mg/kg of S. latifolius leaf powder. Histological changes including infiltration of the sinusoids and focal area by inflammatory cells and mild portal congestion were observed in all the groups except the normal and diabetic rats treated with 300 mg/kg of S. latifolius leaf powder. The result of the study showed that S. latifolius could only be encouraged for diabetes management only at low dose and might be hepatotoxic at high dose.