ABSTRACT
Erectile dysfunction has a history of being connected to diabetes mellitus. The treatment of erectile dysfunction induced by diabetes can be effectively managed using medicinal plants. Hence, this study investigated the antidiabetic, aphrodisiac, and molecular docking studies of Newbouldia laevis ethanolic leaf extract in diabetic male rats.
The fresh leaves of N. laevis were collected from Ugbe Akoko and extracted using absolute ethanol with the aid of the Soxhlet apparatus. Forty-eight male rats were divided into six groups of eight animals each comprising normal, negative, extract treated group (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg respectively) and positive control group (Glibenclamide + sildenafil). Following induction of diabetes in animals, extract was administered to animals daily for seven days and blood glucose level was monitored daily. Effect of extract on fasting blood glucose, and aphrodisiac activities were carried out under standard procedures Equally, phytochemical screening and molecular docking studies of some identified compounds in the extract also carried out.
The extract at the different administered doses (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg respectively) significantly (p<0.05) reduced fasting blood glucose level by 54%, 43%, and 22.32% respectively, as well as increased body weight of male. The extract also significantly increased mounting frequency by (69.05%, 123.81%, 245.24% respectively) and intromission frequency by (15.71%, 67.14% and 130% respectively) but drastically reduced mounting and intromission latency in diabetic male rats. The presence of flavonoids, saponins, cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, tannins, and reducing Sugar, were deduced to be present in the extract, while anthracene derivatives, cardenolides, and alkaloids were absent.
Luteolin-7-o-glucuronide with a docking score of -12.284 kcal/mol was predicted to have the best Phosphodiesterase -5 inhibitory activity.
This study showed that, while oral administration of an ethanol extract of N. laevis leaf has the potential to act as aphrodisiac and anti-diabetic agent at lower dosages, it tend to be toxic or lethal at higher dosages.
