Hypoglycaemic and Haematologic Effects of Crude Stem Juice of Costus Afer on AlloxanInduced Diabetic Wistar Rats

There is a reported surge in the use of different parts of medicinal plants in the treatment of diabetes mellitus in recent times. Objective: To evaluated the effects of oral administration of crude juice obtained from Costus afer stem on the blood glucose concentration and haematological indices of alloxan-induced diabetic wistar rats. Methods: Forty wistar albino rats weighing between 150g and 250g were used in this study. Twenty rats were treated with 100mg/kg body weight of alloxan by intraperitoneal administration, while 20 rats served as control. The animals were treated with 1.5ml of Costus afer crude stem juice. Results: Results obtained showed that there was a significant (p <0.05) reduction in blood glucose levels of the diabetic animals treated with the crude juice. There was also a slight reduction (p ？？0.05) in the glucose level of normal animals treated with the juice. Treatment with the juice significantly (p < 0.05) altered some haematological parameters of diabetic rats when compared with the control. Conclusion: Crude stem juice of Costus afer possess some protective potential against the effect of diabetes mellitus by reducing the blood glucose level and positively influencing the haematological indices and as such may be employed in the management of diabetes mellitus.