Ethanolic Leaf Extract of Croton Zambesicus (Müll. Arg.) Improves Gastric Emptying Capacity and Gastric Mucosa Integrity in Streptozotocin-induced Diabetic Rats

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of C. zambesicus leaf extract on the gastric emptying capacity, histomorphometry, nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) levels in experimentally induced diabetic wistar rats. At the end of the experimental period, the animals were sacrificed and the stomach excised for gastric emptying analysis. Tissues were later processed and stained for histomorphometric analysis. Serum was obtained for NO and PGE2 analysis using respective research kits. The results showed that the percentage gastric emptying capacity were significantly increased (P<0.05) in group pretreated with C. zambesicus (78.40 ± 2.99%) and group treated with C. zambesicus for four weeks (72.80 ± 5.82%) when compared with the untreated diabetic group (39.20 ± 6.15%). NO and PGE2 were significantly reduced (p<0.05) in the untreated diabetic rats when compared with extract treated groups. Also, there was a significant (p<0.05) improvement in the histomorphometry of the extract treated groups as compared with the untreated diabetic group. In conclusion, this study had shown that C. zambesicus extract has a positive influence on gastric emptying capacity and gastric mucosa integrity in diabetic rats.