Prevention of the onset of hyperglycaemia by extracts of Aloe barbadensis in rabbits treated with alloxan

Abstract

The ability of a home-made aqueous extract of Aloe barbadensis to prevent the onset of alloxaninduced hyperglycaemia was examined and compared with that of a factory-produced gel. Three groups
of animals were administered 200 mg/kg body weight of alloxan intraperitoneally. A fourth group of animals was left uninjected. Animals in group 2 also received a uniform administration of 1 mg/ml twice
daily oral intake of Aloe gel (the home-made extract) commenced at the same time the alloxan was administered and continued thereafter for the next six days. Animals in group 3 were administered the factory-produced extract in a similar way as was done for animals in group 2. Plasma glucose levels at the end of the experiment were 142.50±6.28, 82.50±2.72, 88.17±1.92 and 94.17±1.51mg/dl for animals in groups 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. Alloxan administration possibly resulted in an increase of 51% in the plasma glucose level of animals in group 1 relative to animals in group 4 (p<0.05). The results suggest that both the home-made and the factory-produced extracts prevented the onset of hyperglycaemia with the home-made extract appearing to be more potent.