Ameliorative potential of freeze-dried methanolic leaf extract of Moringa oleifera Lam. on hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, anti-oxidative enzymes and hepatopathy in Streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice

The leaves of Moringa oleifera commonly known as Drumstick or ‘Sajina’ were collected from Dibrugarh, Assam and the methanolic leaf extract (MLE) was prepared using a lyophilyzer. Phytochemical screening reveals that phenols and flavonoids were strongly present in the MLE. The total phenolic and flavanoid contents were 72.43±0.031 and 43.44±0.010 (μg/mg) respectively. Toxicology study reveals that the LD50 value of MLE is higher than 2000 mg/kg b.w. The anti-hyperglycemic study shows that all the doses of MLE (150- 550 mg/kg b.w.) were effective against FBG levels in STZ- induced diabetic mice but the dose 350 mg/kg b.w. was observed as the optimum dose. The lipid profile shows that elevated levels of total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL-C and VLDL-C levels and reduced levels of HDL-C during diabetic conditions were restored to near normal levels upon treatment with MLE. The hepatic marker enzyme activity also revealed that the elevated levels of serum ALP, SGPT and SGOT under diabetic conditions were reduced significantly when treated with MLE. Similarly, liver antioxidant enzyme activity shows that the enzymes Superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD and MnSOD), Catalase and Glutathione reductase were restored to near normal levels upon treatment with MLE. The histological study also shows that the MLE exerted hepatoprotective effects and could reverse and suppress the injuries caused by diabetes in the liver.  Hence from the findings of the present study we can conclude that the MLE of the plant M. oleifera possess anti-hyperglycemic, anti-hyperlipidemic, anti-oxidative and anti-hepatopathy properties in STZ-induced diabetic mice models.