Protective Effect of Ethanol Leaf Extract of Carica papaya Linn (Caricaceae) in Alloxan-induced Diabetic Rats

Purpose: To investigate the ameliorative effect of ethanolic extract of Carica papaya leaves in alloxan induced diabetic rats. Methods: Rats were randomly divided into five groups of eight animals each. Group A (control) comprised normal healthy animals which were orally administered 1.0 ml of distilled water daily for 21 days while groups B – E consisted of alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Group B comprised diabetic untreated rats, and groups C and D received 1.0 ml of 250 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg body weight of the extract, respectively. Group E received 300 mg/kg of metformin. Results: Administration of the extract to the diabetic rats significantly reduced (p < 0.05) glucose level (123.50 mg/dl), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (1.24 mg/dl) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), while significantly increasing (p < 0.05) high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and total protein level (66.51 g/dl) compared to the diabetic untreated rats. The extract also significantly decreased (p < 0.05) the concentration of serum urea (12.35 mg/dl), creatinine, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) of the diabetic rats. Conclusion: The ethanol leaf extract of Carica papaya ameliorates metabolic disorder caused by diabetes in rats.