Hypoglycaemic and hypolipidemic effects of pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) on alloxan-induced diabetic rats

This study was aimed to evaluate the hypoglycaemic and hypolipidemic effects of different doses of pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) powder in male diabetic rats. A total of 35 rats were randomized into 5 groups of 7 each as follows: Group 1: Normal control; Group 2: Diabetic control; Group 3: Diabetics administered with low doses of pumpkin powder (1 g/kg); Group 4: Diabetics administered with high doses of pumpkin powder (2 g/kg), and Group 5: Diabetics administered with glibenclamide (0.6 mg/kg), as positive control. The rats were made diabetic by alloxan (120 mg/kg body weight (BW)) injection and were treated for 4 weeks on a daily basis. Blood samples were collected following the experiment. Pancreatic specimens were also collected for histological analysis. Glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, low density lipoprotein (LDL) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were significantly increased, while insulin was decreased in diabetic rats as compared to the normal control group (p < 0.05). Low dose pumpkin significantly decreased glucose, triglycerides, LDL and CRP as compared to diabetic group and high dose pumpkin decreased cholesterol (p < 0.05). Histological analysis also revealed a significant increase in the diameter and number of langerhans islets in treated group with pumpkin, which was consistent with the latter findings. Therefore, pumpkin might be beneficial in diabetic patients.