Therapeutic potentials of aqueous extract of Costus afer leaves on gastrointestinal function: A study on metabolic and hepatic changes in streptozotocin-induced type II diabetic rats

Abstract

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic disorder in which there is high blood sugar over a prolonged period of time. This study aimed to compare gastrointestinal function and hepatic changes in diabetic rats treated with aqueous extract of Costus afer leaves, evaluate the effect of aqueous extract of C. afer leaves on liver enzymes in Wistar rats.

Methods: Thirty-five male rats were grouped in 5 groups of 7 rats. To induce diabetes, 4mg/ml of streptozotocin, was injected at 50mg/kg body weight to animals in groups II, IV and V. Oven-dried C. afer leaves were crushed into powdered, and packaged separately and used to produce aqueous extract for the study. The extract was administered at a dosage of 800mg/kg body weight daily to rats in groups III and V. After 28 days, the animals were sacrificed and parameters were analyzed. A stock concentration of 20mg/ml of metformin was administered at a dose of 200mg/kg of body weight to the animal using oral gavage to group IV animals only. Extracted serum was used for Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) analysis.

Results: Treatment with C. afer alone (5.62±0.21), and in combination with metformin significantly reduced blood glucose compared to the untreated diabetic group (9.82±0.76). Final body weight was significantly reduced in diabetes mellitus group (DM) and DM+ Metformin (MTF) groups but improved with C. afer and DM+C. afer. AST, ALT, and ALP were significantly elevated in DM rats, indicating liver dysfunction. However, treatment with C. afer, especially in combination with metformin, significantly restored these enzymes toward normal levels.

Conclusion: Findings support the antidiabetic, gastroprotective, and hepatoprotective efficacy of C. afer aqueous extract.