Effect of <i>Cnidoscolus aconitifolius</i> (Family Euphorbiaceae) Aqueous Leaf Extract on Some Antioxidant Enzymes and Haematological Parameters of High Fat Diet and Streptozotocin Induced Diabetic Wistar Albino Rats

Abstract

This study was carried out to evaluate the oxidative and haematologic effects of aqueous extract of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius (CA) in high fat diet (HFD) and streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetes in Wistar albino rats. Diabetes was induced by feeding the rats with HFD that consisted of 20% sucrose and 20% lard for 4 weeks, followed by a single dose intraperitoneal injection of STZ (40mg/kg body weight (BW)). The aqueous leaf extract of CA was administered orally and daily at 400, 600 and 800mg/kg BW from 7days after induction of diabetes and lasted for 12 weeks, while the normal control and diabetic control rats received regular diet and HFD respectively. Metformin (50mg/kg BW) was used as a standard antidiabetic drug. The animals were anaesthetized and sacrificed to obtain blood by cardiac puncture. Preliminary phytochemical analysis of CA showed the content of tannins (5.72±0.00), saponins (12.49±0.021), alkaloids (17.45 ±0.65), flavonoids (23.72 ±0.02), cyanogenic glycosides (0.75 ±0.10) and phytate (1.97 ±0.06). The six vitamins analysed, showed the concentration of vitamin A (5.24mg/kg), vitamin B 3 (1.40mg/kg), vitamin B 6 (37.23mg/kg), vitamin B 12 (15.98mg/kg), vitamin C (382.00mg/kg) and vitamin E (18.28mg/kg). There was significantly (p<0.05) reduced activity of catalase (CAT), significantly (p<0.05) increased level of TBARS, and non significantly (p>0.05) reduced activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), Packed Cell Volume (PCV) and haemoglobin (Hb) concentration in HFD/STZ induced diabetic rats. CA significantly (p<0.05) increased the SOD and CAT activities, PCV, and Hb concentrations of the treated diabetic rats (TDR) while the TBARS was significantly (p<0.05) decreased compared to the diabetic control (DC). Our findings suggest that CA exhibited reversal effects on these selected oxidative and haematologic markers in rats which were previously damaged by HFD and STZ. © JASEM http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jasem.v19i2.5

Ethyl acetate leaf fraction ofCnidoscolus aconitifolius(Mill.) I. M. Johnst: antioxidant potential, inhibitory activities of key enzymes on carbohydrate metabolism, cholinergic, monoaminergic, purinergic, and chemical fingerprinting

“…[19] The plant is a rich source of protein, vitamins, calcium, iron, and in vitro antioxidants. [20] The aqueous leaf extract of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius has been documented by Obichi et al [21] on some antioxidant enzymes and haematological parameters of high-fat diet and streptozotocin-induced diabetic Wistar albino rats. Hence, there is scanty information on ethyl acetate fraction of the plant leaf.…”

Phenolic profile and antioxidant capacity of Cnidoscolus chayamansa and Cnidoscolus aconitifolius: A review

“…Mordi and Akanji (2012), also using an aqueous extraction, found a moderate presence of phenols (++), a low presence of tannins (+), and a high presence of flobotannins (+++). In an aqueous extraction of chaya leaf, Obichi et al (2015) found 5.7% of tannins and 23.7% of flavonoids. Babalola and Alabi (2015) also tested an aqueous extraction of chaya leaf and found 15.17 gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/100 g fresh matter (FM) of total phenolic compounds, and 243.33 mg/100 g FM of flavonoids.…”

“…This residue was then lyophilized. Obichi et al (2015) mentioned that only C. aconitifolius leaves were harvested, cleaned and air dried at 28°C for 28 days before use. Valenzuela et al (2015) reported drying the C. chayamansa leaf for 15 days at room temperature in a closed and ventilated area, where the sample was then ground with a mortar and stored at room temperature.…”

Nutraceutical Potential of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius

“…It was found that the administration of 100 and 200 mg / kg of weight of the extract helped to reduce hyperlipidemia in a murine model [20]. It has also served not only to decrease the lipid profile but also to help reverse the appearance of oxidative and hematological markers caused by a high-fat diet in rats [22].…”