The study investigated the effect of ethanolic fruit rind extract of Nephelium lappaceum on blood glucose, body and organ weights, and hematological indices in alloxan-induced diabetic albino Wistar rats. Sixty male albino Wistar rats weighing between 116 and 231 g were randomly assigned to six groups of ten rats in each group. Groups 1-5 rats were induced with 150 mg/kg body weight of alloxan monohydrate intraperitoneally. Fasting blood glucose was measured four days after induction; rats with blood glucose levels of 200 mg/kg and above were considered diabetic. Group 4 was treated with 50 mg/kg body weight of metformin. Group 5 was the diabetic untreated group that equally had alloxan, and group 6 was the normal control group. Group 1-3 were treated with 500, 1000, and 1,500 mg/kg body weight of extract, respectively, for 28days. Glucose levels were checked weekly using a glucometer. Rats treated with Nephelium kappacism peel extract showed a dose-dependent decrease in glucose levels when compared to the untreated diabetic group. The result of the study also revealed a significant reduction (p<0.05) in body weights of the untreated diabetic group compared to the normal group. However, treatment of the rats with the extract showed improved body weight when compared to untreated rats. The hematological parameters such as RBC, HGB, and HCT were significantly reduced (p<0.05) in the untreated group compared to the normal group. The study also showed a low level of MCH and MCHC in the untreated diabetic group. The administration of peel extracts improved the production of RBC and its indices in the diabetic rats. The WBC, however, showed a significant (p<0.05) increase in the diabetic untreated group compared to the normal group. Administration of peel extract reduced the production of WBC, indicating that the extract had an anti-inflammatory effect on the rats, while PLT level was significantly high in the experimental groups compared to the normal control. The result of this study suggests that the extract possesses hematinic and antidiabetic potentials, which could be used in the management of diabetes.
Akpan et al. (Wed,) studied this question.