Biochemical Effects of High Concentration of Colocasia Esculenta Flour Fed on Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

Background: An endocrine and metabolic disease of the pancreas such as Diabetes Mellitus (DM), is of Public health dimension responsible for 536.6 million cases in the globe. The treatment of DM takes lots of resources, making alternative treatment options like the utilization of medicinal plants like Colocasia Esculenta (CYN) a point of research, hence this study involving biochemical evaluation of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats (SIDR) fed on high concentration of the flour.

Methodology: CYN was processed into pellets, dried in an oven at 60°C, and adequately stored for further use. Fourty-two male albino rats with weights ranging from 134 and 247 grammes, were purchased, acclimatized and induced with insulin resistance by the administration of 10% fructose diet, thereafter, the rats were made to develop type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) by the intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. For 28 days, an intervention formulation consisting of 50:50% ratio of cocoyam flour and commercial rat feed, was administered at the end of which blood samples were collected from the slaughtered animals for various biochemical analyses.

Results & Discussion: The active biological substances in the cocoyam flour included phenolics, D-stilbene, phthalate, and artemisinin, along with more antioxidant minerals than those found in usual rat meals. The formulation exhibited CAT activity of 7.9 units/min and DPPH of 53.2%. Poor glycemic control was suggested by the persistently elevated random blood glucose readings observed along the time trend. Although the results of the liver function tests were similar for the intervention and standard control, the formulation was more effective than metformin at reducing lipid peroxidation and in the hypolipidemic effects.

Conclusion: Administration of high cocoyam flour concentration demonstrated comparable biochemical effects to the anti-diabetic drug metformin in SIDRs, despite its poor glycemic control. This suggests that cocoyam flour may be applied as a supplemental treatment for people with T2DM.