Effect of Ethanolic Leaf Extract of Mucuna pruriens on Blood Glucose Levels on Normoglycemic Wistar Rats

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of Ethanolic leaf extract of Mucuna pruriens on blood glucose levels on normoglycemic Wistar rats. The acute toxicity study of the plant extract was investigated. Different doses of 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg b w of extract were administered orally by gavage to three groups of normal fasted rats and metformin 250 mg/kg was given to a group and served as positive control while a group was given normal saline for a period of 21day and also served as the negative control. A significant decrease (p<0.05) in the blood glucose levels was observed after 6 day with 100 and 400mg/kg b w when compared to control. However, there was a significant change (p<0.05) in the blood glucose levels with all does of the plant extract after 9 and 21 day. The preliminary phytochemical screening of the extract showed the presence of flavonoids, saponins, tannins, cardiac glycosides, steroids, cyanogenetic glycosides and alkaloids. The median lethal dose (LD 50 ) in rats was found to be 2154.0 mg.kg body weight. In conclusion,the findings of the study showed that the Ethanolic leaf extract of Mucuna pruriens possess hypoglycemic properties on normoglycemic rats.