Diabetes has become a global health concern, its management lies hugely on expensive medical care and monitoring; thus the need to investigate possible alternatives to reduce treatment cost. This study aims to assess the anti-diabetic, lipid lowering and renal protective effect of Citrus X paradisi on alloxan induced diabetic male albino Wister rats. Twenty-five (25) male albino Wister rats, weighing 140g-230 g were obtained for the study. The animals were divided into five (5) groups of five (5) animals each according to their weights. Diabetes was induced by intravenous injection of 150mg/kg of 5% alloxan monohydrate in citrate buffer, pH 4.0. Group A received (0.1ml) 250mg/kg of the grape juice extract; Group B received 0.4ml, 500mg/kg, Group C received 0.7ml 1000mg/kg; Group D (diabetic possible control) received 0.9ml (5ml/kg) of glibenclamide; and Group E (diabetic negative control) received only water. Blood glucose was estimated using Accu-Chek glucose meter; triglyceride, urea and creatinine were estimated using respective colorimetric methods. Animals in Group A recorded significantly lower mean blood glucose level at 4 and 8 hours compared to the 0 hour specimen (P<0.001). Group C animals recorded significantly reduced blood glucose level at 8 hours compared to the fasting sample (0 hour specimen) (P<0.05). In the sub-acute study, animals in group A and C recorded significant decreases in their mean blood glucose level at the 8th day for group A and 4th day for group C compared to 0 hour specimen (P<0.001). A significant reduction in the levels of triglyceride, urea and creatinine of animals in group A, B, C, and D were observed compared to the negative control group. Results obtained from this study show that the juice extract of Citrus X paradisi could have effect in managing diabetes and preventing its complications.
