Effects of Stephania dinklagei (Engl.) Diels methanol root extract on alloxan-induced diabetic Wistar rats

The natives of Orba in Udenu, Enugu State, Nigeria use the roots of Stephania dinklagei to treat folkloric “sugar disease.” The methanol root extract of S. dinklagei was investigated for antidiabetic activity in alloxan-induced diabetic Wistar rats and also evaluated for in vitro and in vivo antioxidant potentials. Extraction was by cold maceration in 80 % methanol for 48 h. Diabetes was induced with alloxan monohydrate at 160 mg/?kg, intraperitoneally. Treatment was done orally using the extract at doses of 100, 200, and 400 mg/?kg with glibenclamide (2 mg/?kg) as the standard reference drug for 14 days. Fasting blood sugar levels were measured at days 0, 7, and 14 using an autoanalyzer (Accu-Chek Advantage^®) glucose kit. Total cholesterol and malondialdehyde were evaluated on day 14. The extract and the glibenclamide caused a time-dependent decrease in the fasting blood glucose levels of the diabetic rats when compared to the negative control group at various levels of significance (p?<?0.05–0.0001). The extract at the dose of 100 mg/?kg reduced the fasting blood glucose level by 60.5 % on day 14. S. dinklagei extract also caused a significant reduction in total cholesterol and malondialdehyde when compared with the negative control (p?<?0.05–0.0001). The highest activity was observed at the dose of 100 mg/?kg of the extract. There was a concentration-dependent increase in percentage total antioxidant activity from 10 to 400 μg/?ml. The results suggest that S. dinklagei has significant antidiabetic and antioxidant potentials in type 2-induced diabetic Wistar rats.