Abstract

Diabetes mellitus has become a major public health concern, especially in the developing countries. The current orthodox treatment modalities for diabetes mellitus have many drawbacks including undesirable side-effects and the high cost of long-term treatment. The aim of this study is to determine the anti-diabetic and some haematological effects of Ethylacetate and n-Butanol fractions of Ganoderma lucidum (Tuwon biri) aqueous extract in alloxan-induced diabetic. Preliminary phytochemical screening and acute toxicity studies of the two fractions of G. lucidum were carried out. A dose of 50 mg/kg of Ethylacetate and n-Butanol fraction of G. lucidum aqueous extract was given intraperitoneally daily for two weeks to the alloxan-induced wistar rats. Insulin was also used as a standard anti-diabetic drug and was given intraperitoneally to alloxan-induced diabetic wistar rats. The fasting blood glucose levels were determined weekly for two weeks. At the end of the two weeks, the animals were sacrificed and blood samples were taken from all the groups for the determination of hematological parameters. The preliminary phytochemical screening of the two fractions ofG. lucidum aqueous extract revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, and saponins. The LD₅₀ was 1265 and 471 mg/kg for Ethylacetate and n-Butanol fractions of the G. lucidum aqueous extract respectively. There was a significant (p < 0.05) reduction of 188.8 ± 19.51mg/dl and 162.8 ± 24.67 mg/dl of the fasting blood glucose of the alloxan-induced diabetic groups after 1 and 2 weeks of treatment with Ethylacetate fraction of G. lucidumaqueous extract respectively. Similarly, There was a significant (p < 0.05) reduction of 182.2 ± 56.09 mg/dl and 148.8 ± 32.82 mg/dl of the fasting blood glucose of the alloxan-induced diabetic groups after 1 and 2 weeks of treatment with n-Butanol fraction of G. lucidumaqueous extract respectively. There was a statistically significant (p < 0.05) reduction of 3.68 ± 0.28 × 10¹² /L in the red cell count of the n-Butanol fraction treated group. The total leukocytes showed a significant (p < 0.05) increase of 16.62 ± 0.53 × 10⁹ /L and 16.48 ± 1.35 × 10⁹ /L after the two weeks treatment with Ethylacetate and n-Butanol fractions of G. lucidum aqueous extract respectively. In conclusion, both Ethylacetate and n-Butanol fractions of G. lucidum aqueous extract were found to have potent anti-diabetic effects. The Ethylacetate fraction has no significant erythropoetic effect while the n-Butanol fraction showed a significant decrease in the red cell parameters.

Key words: Blood glucose, diabetes mellitus, Ganoderma lucidum, red blood cell, leucocytes.