Anti-diabetic effect of Xylopia aethiopica (Dunal) A. Rich. (Annonaceae) fruit acetone fraction in a type 2 diabetes model of rats

Abstract

Ethnopharmacological relevance: In traditional medicine from West Africa, the fruit decoction of Xylopia aethiopica (Dunal) A. Rich. is widely used for the treatment of diabetes mellitus (DM) either alone or in combination with other plants. The present study is designed to investigate the anti-diabetic effects of X. aethiopica acetone fraction (XAAF) from fruit ethanolic extract in a type 2 diabetes (T2D) model of rats.

Materials and methods: T2D was induced in rats by feeding a 10% fructose solution ad libitum for 2 weeks followed by a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (40 mg/kg body weight) and the animals were orally treated with 150 or 300 mg/kg body weight (bw) of the XAAF once daily for four weeks.

Results: After 4 weeks study period, diabetic untreated animals (DBC) exhibited significantly higher serum glucose, serum fructosamine, LDH, CK-MB, serum lipids, liver glycogen, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), AI, CRI and lower serum insulin, β-cell function (HOMA-β) and glucose tolerance ability compared to the normal animals. Histopathological examination of their pancreas revealed corresponding pathological changes in the islets and β-cells. These alterations were reverted to near-normal after the treatment of XAAF at 150 (DXAL) and 300 (DXAH) mg/kg bw with the effects being more pronounced in the DXAH group compared to the DXAL group. Moreover, the effects in the animals of DXAH group were comparable to the diabetic metformin (DMF) treated animals. In addition, no significant alterations were observed in non-diabetic animals treated with 300 mg/kg bw of XAAF (NXAH).

Conclusion: The results of our study suggest that XAAF treatment showed excellent anti-diabetic effects in a T2D model of rats.

Keywords: Absolute ethanol (CID 702); Acetone fraction; Citric acid (CID 311); Dichoromethane (CID 6344); Ethyl acetate (CID 8857); Fructose (CID 5984); Fruit ethnolic extract; Glucose (CID 5793); Hexane (CID 8058); Metformin (CID 4091); Methanol (CID 887); Rats; Sodium citrate (CID 6224); Streptozotocin (CID 29327); Type 2 diabetes; Xylopia aethiopica.