EFFECT OF AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF PICRALIMA NITIDA SEEDS ON THE GLYCAEMIA OF RABBITS

Abstract

In Côte-d’Ivoire, diabetes appears like a warming affection which affects 5% of the population. This is a worrying prevalence rate. Our search for means of fighting this alarming metabolic affection made us to develop an herbal medicine made from Picralima nitida seeds, used by traditional healers of Agboville Department (Côte-d’Ivoire), to develop medicamentous receipts for purpose antidiabetic. In Laboratory, the herbal medicine was investigated for its hypoglycaemic activity in animals using glucose-induced hyperglycaemic rabbits. The rabbits, deprived of food overnight, were divided into 8 groups. Four groups of non-hyperglycaemic rabbits received distilled water. Group 3 (hyperglycaemic) received glibenclamide. Groups 4, 5 and 6 received different doses of aqueous extracts of Picralima nitida seeds. The results revealed that before administration of glucose overload, the animals had a basal glycaemia of 0.95 ± 0.06 g/l. The non treated rabbits’ glycaemia increased and reached 1.24 g/l ± 0.02. The oral administration of glibenclamide lowers blood sugar at 0.71 g/l. The others hyperglycaemic rabbits were given herbal medicine to drink, 0.2 ml per 20 grams of body weight, respectively at 10, 20 and 40 mg/ml. The herbal medicine exerts dose-dependant hypoglycemic effect. At 40 mg/ml, it highlights the hypoglycaemic effect and decreases the hyperglycaemia to a value of 0.8 g/l. The effect of the herbal medicine at 40 mg/ml approximates that of glibenclamide at 0.25 mg/ml. Aqueous extract of Picralima nitida seeds possess insulin-like properties as demonstrated by its hypoglycaemic action, hence, may be good herbal extract in the management of diabetes.