Antidiabetic and hypolipidaemic effects of a methanol/methylene-chloride extract of Laportea ovalifolia (Urticaceae), measured in rats with alloxan-induced diabetes.

A decoction of the leaves of Laportea ovalifolia is widely used in Cameroon for the treatment of several illnesses, including diabetes mellitus. The antidiabetic and hypolipidaemic effects of a methanol/methylene-chloride extract of the aerial parts of L. ovalifolia have now been investigated, in normal rats and rats with diabetes induced by the intraperitoneal injection of alloxan (at 150 mg/kg bodyweight). In the diabetic rats, 2 weeks of daily, intragastric treatment with the L. ovalifolia extract not only produced a significant reduction in the fasting serum glucose concentrations but also lowered the serum concentrations of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol, lowered the ratio of total cholesterol to high-density-lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and increased the serum concentration of HDL cholesterol. At least in rats with alloxan-induced diabetes, the methanol/methylene-chloride extract of L. ovalifolia therefore appears to possess antidiabetic and hypolipidaemic properties.