Vol. 11, Special Issue 6 (2022)

Author(s):
Yashas R Kumar, Suguna Rao, HD Narayanaswamy, ML Satyanarayana, Prakash Nadoor and D Rathnamma

Abstract:
Pomegranate is a curative plant from ancient times which belongs to punicaceae and Lythraceae family. It has been used for the treatment of various health issues such as cancer, diabetes, inflammation, dental plaque, dysentery and intestinal infections. This plant develops as small trees or shrubs in several countries of Iran, Iraq, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia and Mediterranean area which is an important source of many bioactive compounds. The present study was undertaken to screen phytochemicals and bioactive compounds in Punica granatum peel and to evaluate the bodyweight and haematological alterations in STZ induced diabetic male albino rats. The study included five treatment groups comprising of ten albino Wistar rats each. The various groups in this study included normal control (Group I), diabetic control (Group II), diabetic rats treated with metformin at the rate of 500 mg/kg bw, (Group III), diabetic rats treated with pomegranate fresh juice at 100% dosage (Group IV) and diabetic rats treated with pomegranate peel extract at 100% dosage (Group V). It was observed that the potential phytochemicals present in hydroalcoholic extract were saponins, tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids, cardiac glycosides and phenols. The results in addition showed that there was a significant decrease (p ≤ 0.05) in the mean bodyweight, RBC, Hb values in diabetic rats when compared to normal control rats. The treatment groups treated with metformin, pomegranate juice and pomegranate peel extract (Group III to V) showed a significant improvement in all the parameters compared to diabetic control by the end of 45^th day. It was inferred that metformin substantially alleviated the effects of STZ in diabetic rats compared to all the treatment groups. Pomegranate peel extract was observed to have marginally better antidiabetic effects compared to pomegranate juice.