Antihyperglycemic and Antihyperlipidemic Effects of Different Fractions of Stevia Rebaudiana Leaves in Alloxan Induced Diabetic Rats

The present study carried out to investigate the antihyperglycemic, oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and antihyperlipidemic (Total cholesterol and triglycerides) effects of the different fractions (Petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and chloroform) of ethanolic extract of Stevia rebaudiana leaves. The different fractions of the extract were administered orally as a single dose of 150 mg/kg body weight to alloxan induced hyperglycemic rats and found to reduce blood glucose level significantly (p<0.05). The different fractions resulted in the significant reduction of lipid content which was increased in hyperglycemic rats. The plant fractions also improve the glucose tolerance in the glucose induced rats. The effects of plant fractions were compared with standard drug metformin. The phytochemical screening tests indicated that the different constituents such as saponins, tannins, triterpines, alkaloids, flavonoids and glycosides etc. were present in the plant which has antidiabetic and hypolipidemic properties. Thus, this investigation paves the way for plant based antihyperglycemic and antihyperlipidemic treatment and indicates that various fractions (Petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and chloroform) of the ethanolic extract of Stevia rebaudiana leaves have favorable effect in bringing down the severity of hyperglycemia, enhancing antihyperlipidemic activity and also improving glucose tolerance activity. INTRODUCTION: Hyperglycemia or diabetes is one of the most commonly occurring problems around the globe. Technically it is known as Diabetes Mellitus. It is the single most important metabolic disorder. This can affect nearly every organ system in the body . According to World Health Organization projections, the prevalence of diabetes is likely to increase by 35% by the year 2025 . Recently, the treatment of diabetes mainly involves a sustained reduction in hyperglycemia by the use of biguanides, thiazolidinediones, sulfonylureas D-phenylalanine and α-glucosidase inhibitors in addition to insulin. However, due to unwanted side effects the efficacies of these compounds are debatable and there is a demand for new compounds for the treatment of diabetes 3, . Hence, plants have been suggested as a rich, as yet unexplored source of potentially useful antidiabetic drugs. Many traditional plants treatment for diabetes are used throughout the World. Plant drugs and herbal