ABSTRACT
Telfairia occidentalis is a green vegetable popularly consumed among the native of Africa and it is generallybelieved to be of medicinal and nutritional value. Studies have reported its hypoglycaemic and hyperglycaemic effects inrats. In addition to these conflicting reports, the mechanisms for its effects on blood glucose remain inconclusive. Theobjective of this study was to investigate the mechanism involved in the increased blood glucose following treatment withT. occidentalis. Twenty five (25) male albino rats (200-250g) were randomly divided into 5 groups (n=5/group). Rats in thecontrol group received normal saline while rats in other groups were orally treated with 100 or 200 mg/kg body weight ofthe extract for either 1 or 2 weeks. At the end of the treatment, the rats were anaesthetized and blood samples were collectedfor the estimation of some biochemical parameters. The results showed significant decreases in plasma glucose after 1 weekof treatment with 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg. However, after 2 weeks of treatment with both doses, plasma glucose levelsincreased significantly and were higher than those of the control and the rats treated for 1 week with both doses. There werealso dose- and duration-dependent decreases in glycogen concentration in the treated rats, especially those treated for twoweeks. Glucose-6-phosphatase activity and liver glycogen concentration were lower in rats treated for 2 weeks whencompared with those treated for 1 week with both doses. Moreover, plasma lactate concentration was lower in the treatedgroups when compared with control. The results suggest that Telfairia occidentalis-induced lowering of plasma glucose afterone week of treatment probably favoured lactate oxidation/gluconeogenesis and elicited breakdown of liver glycogen whichresulted in increased plasma glucose after two weeks of treatment.
