Abstract
Diabetes mellitus is characterized by chronic hyperglycaemia with disturbances of carbohydrates, fat, and protein metabolism resulting from the defect of insulin secretion or insulin action. Parkia biglobosa is traditionally used in Nigeria to treat a range of ailments and diseases including diarrhoea, pneumonia, ulcers, burns, coughs, jaundice and diabetes. In this study, the anti-hyperglycemic effect of methanol leaf extract of P. biglobosa was investigated against Alloxan induced diabetes in rats. A total of twenty-five (25) rats were randomly allocated to 5 groups of 5 rats each. Group 1 served as the negative control, group 2 served as diabetic control, Group 3 received standard drug and serve as positive control (glibenclimide 2.5mg/kg) while Groups 4-5 were treated with methanol leaf extract of P. biglobosa (100mg and 300mg) respectively. Results obtained reveal that no significant decrease (p<0.05) in the body weight and in the blood glucose level of diabetic untreated rats. However, treatment with the extract of P. biglobosa leaf significantly decreased (p<0.05) blood glucose level when compared with the untreated control. The 300mg/kg dose of methanol extract had the best activity with significant reduction (p<0.05) in the blood glucose level when compared to the normal control. It can therefore be concluded that methanol leaf extract of P. biglobosa possess significant anti-hyperglycaemic properties against Alloxan induced diabetes in rats with the 300mg/kg dose of the methanol leaf extract being the most potent dose of the extract, thus it can serve as a potent remedy for hyperglycaemia.

Key words: Anti-diabetic, Alloxan, Leaf, Glibenclimide, Parkia biglobosa