Vol. 8, Issue 11 (2019)

A total of 30 male Wistar albino rats were divided into 5 groups with 6 animals in each group. Viz: Normal control (NC) (Group-I), diabetic control (DC) (Group-II), diabetic rats treated with glibenclamide@0.6mg/kg bw (Group-III), diabetic rats treated with Moringa oleifera (MO) leaf extract @300 mg/kg bw (Group-IV) and MO leaf extract @400 mg/kg bw (Group-V). All group of rats were subjected to evaluation of body weight, blood glucose and serum insulin levels on day 0, 7, 14 and 21 of the experiment. There was significant (P<0.05) decrease in body weight and serum insulin and significant (P<0.05) increase in blood glucose level in DC rats compared to NC rats. In the Present study, daily oral administration of MO leaf extract at dose rate of 300 and 400 mg/kg bw and glibenclamide at 0.6mg/kg bw in diabetic rats for 21 days showed a progressive improvement in body weight, blood glucose and serum insulin concentration.

Histopathological alterations in pancreas and kidney were studied in control and experimental group rats which were sacrificed on 21^st day of the experiment. Microscopic examination of pancreas from DC rat’s revealed destruction, decreased number, altered distribution of α and β cells and damaged acinar cells. While, treated groups revealed a moderate restoration in damaged histoarchitecture. Similarly, sections of kidney from DC rats showed a minimal degenerative changes in both pancreas and kidney, suggestive of regenerative changes in treated group.

The overall inference of the study is that, the Moringa leaf extract at dose rate of either 300 or 400 mg/kg bw used showed protective effect against the damage caused by streptozotocin induced diabetes in decreasing blood glucose and improving body weight and insulin hormone levels, thus suggestive of its therapeutic value in Type 2 Diabetes mellitus.