Glycaemic evaluation of Psidium guajava in rats.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Many plant polysaccharides exhibit hypoglycaemic effect. Though the fruit of Psidium guajava is known to contain free sugars, the fruit extract showed hypoglycaemic effect in alloxan treated mice and human subjects. The present study was aimed to determine the glycaemic potential of P. guajava fruit peel extract on blood glucose level (BGL) of normal and streptozotocininduced sub-diabetic rats during fasting blood glucose (FBG) and glucose tolerance test (GTT). METHODS: Female albino Wistar rats (n=42) were divided into seven equal groups, and were given different doses of fruit peel extract. Diabetes was induced by streptozotocin injection (ip) at a dose of 45 mg/kg body weight. Blood glucose levels were measured after collecting the blood from tail veins. RESULTS: The diabetic and sub-diabetic models showed hyperglycaemic effect from a single oral administration of variable doses of P. guajava fruit peel extract. The maximum rise of 26.51 per cent was observed in BGL from a dose of 400 mg/kg bw exactly after 8 h of administration in normal rats whereas the maximum rise of 90.7 per cent was observed with the same dose of 400 mg/kg bw after 2 h of glucose administration in sub-diabetic rats. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: The hyperglycaemic effect of P. guajava fruit peel suggests that the diabetic patients should peel off the guava fruits before consuming. However, it can also be useful in controlling hypoglycaemia occasionally caused due to excess of insulin and other hypoglycaemic drugs.

Pattern of acute renal failure at a referral hospital.

Fifty two children (upto 12 years age) with acute renal failure (ARF) admitted to the Nephrology services between January, 1989 to August, 1992 were studied to determine the cause and outcome. Of these, 39 were boys and 13 girls; 27 (51.9%) patients were below 4 years of age. Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) was the commonest cause of ARF (30.8%) followed by acute tubular necrosis (ATN) in 28.84% and acute glomerulonephritis in 19.23%. All patients had severe renal involvement with anuria in 53.6% and oliguria in 46.4% at presentation. HUS was the leading cause of anuria (53.6%), followed by obstructive uropathy (21.4%). Thirty five patients required dialytic support for a median duration of 18 days (2-90 days). The mortality was 34.6%. Seven patients of HUS, 4 patients of ARF following surgery, 3 patients each of ATN and glomerulonephritis and one patient of obstructive uropathy died. Anuria at onset, central nervous system or respiratory complications and delay in institution of dialytic support were bad prognostic factors. We conclude that early referral and prompt institution of dialytic support may be helpful in decreasing the mortality.