ANTIDIABETIC, ANTIOXIDANT, AND PROTECTIVE EFFECTS OF AQUEOUS EXTRACTS OF SORGHUM BICOLOR AND PENNISETUM GLAUCUM SEEDS IN ALLOXAN-INDUCED DIABETIC WISTAR RATS

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disorder characterized by persistent hyperglycemia and associated metabolic complications resulting from impaired insulin secretion, insulin resistance, or both. Despite the increasing global burden of diabetes, especially in low- and middle-income countries, many medicinal plants and cereal grains used traditionally for diabetes management remain scientifically underexplored. Sorghum bicolor and Pennisetum glaucum are widely consumed cereal crops rich in bioactive phytochemicals with potential therapeutic properties. The absence of scientific data, to the best of our knowledge, on the age long folkloric use of sorghum and millet at 750 and 1000 mg/kg body weight by sufferers of diabetes prompted the present investigation This study investigated the antidiabetic, antioxidant, and protective effects of aqueous extracts of Sorghum bicolor and Pennisetum glaucum seeds in alloxan-induced diabetic Wistar rats.Forty nine albino rats of both sexes were divided into seven groups (A-G) of 7 rats each. Animals in group A (control) received distilled water while those in groups B-G which were induced into hyperglycemia by intraperitoneal injection of alloxan monohydrate (150 mg/kg body weight) received distilled water, 25 mg/kg body weight of glibenclamide (reference antidiabetic drug), 750 mg/kg body weight of S. bicolor, 1000 mg/kg body weight of S. bicolor, 750 mg/kg body weight of P. glaucum and 1000 mg/kg body weight of P. glaucum respectively. Extract administration of 0.5 ml for was done once daily for 21 days after which blood glucose level, selected biochemical parameters and pancreatic histology were determined. Alloxan induction significantly (p<0.05) increased the levels of blood glucose (BG), malonaldehyde (MDA), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (Trig), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC), urea, uric acid, creatinine as well as activities of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT) in the serum of the animals. Administration of alloxan significantly (p<0.05) decreased the levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) as well as the activities of catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the serum of the animals. However, when compared with the distilled water treated diabetic animals, treatment of hyperglycaemic/diabetic animals with the aqueous extract of both S. bicolor and P. glaucum seed at 750 and 1000 mg/kg body weight which significantly (p<0.05) decreased the levels of BG, MDA, TC, Trig, LDLC, urea, uric acid, creatinine as well as activities of ALP, AST, ALT, HDLC as well as activities of CAT and SOD in the serum of the animals, in a manner comparable with the glibenclamide treated diabetic animals. Histological damage in the pancreas following alloxan administration was restored in diabetic animals treated with both aqueous extract of S. bicolor and P. glaucum seed at 750 and 1000 mg/kg body weight in a manner comparable with the glibenclamide treated diabetic animals The findings of this study demonstrate that aqueous extracts of Sorghum bicolor and Pennisetum glaucum possess significant antidiabetic, antioxidant, and protective activities against alloxan-induced hyperglycemia and associated metabolic dysfunctions. The study scientifically supports the traditional use of these cereal grains in the management of diabetes mellitus, with Pennisetum glaucum at 1000 mg/kg body weight showing the greatest therapeutic potential.