Beneficial Effects of Hibiscus sabdariffa in Diabetic Wistar Rats

Hibiscus sabdariffa is a yearly shrub that is widely grown in some Asian and African countries including Nigeria where it is commonly prepared as a hot or cold beverage and also used as medicine. It is applied in folklore remedies in the treatment of some ailments. This study was aimed at investigating the effects of the aqueous calyx extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa on some biochemical parameters of diabetic male Wistar rats. The rats were divided into four (4) groups of five (5) rats each. Group one (1) which served as non diabetic (negative) control received distilled water only. Group 2 served as diabetic control and received distilled water after alloxan-induced diabetes. Group three (3) and group four (4) were diabetic rats that received 250mg/kg bw and 500mg/kg bw of the aqueous calyx extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa respectively, for a period of four (4) weeks. The Statistical Program for Social Sciences (SPSS version 21.0) was used for the analysis. Differences between group means was tested using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and compared using the post hoc test. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. The results obtained showed that the higher dose of the extract caused a significant decrease in blood glucose level in 4 weeks of the study. The changes observed in the plasma concentrations of electrolytes indicated that the extract significantly improved diabetes induced decrease in Cl- level while changes in Na+, K+ and HCO3- were not statistically significant. It also significantly improved lipid profile and reduced oxidative stress in diabetic male Wistar rats. This study revealed that, the calyx extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa demonstrated anti-hyperglycemic effects in diabetic Wistar rats.