Anti-diabetic Activity of the Red Dragon Fruit Peel (Hylocereus polyrhizus) in Ethanol Extract against Diabetic Rats

Background: The red dragon fruit peel, which is rarely used in general, contains higher antioxidant properties compared to the flesh parts and has various secondary metabolites utilised in medicines. Objectives: This study was aimed to determine the effects of ethanol extract administration of the red dragon fruit peel (Hylocereus polyrhizus) against the decline of blood glucose levels in diabetes mellitus rats. Methods: In this study, the total of 24 male white Wistar rats (Rattus novergicus) were divided into 4 groups. All experimental animals were induced to diabetic conditions by the administration of streptozotocin and nicotinamide dosages at 45 mg/kg body weight and 110 mg/kg body weight, respectively. For 14 days, each group was treated accordingly. The first group or negative control (NC) was treated with the administration of CMC-Na 0.5% dose 2 ml/200 g body weight; the second group or positive control (PC) was administrated with glibenclamide dose 0.09 mg/200 g body weight; the third (E1) and fourth (E2) groups were administered with the ethanol extracts of the red dragon fruit peels at dosages of 37.44 mg/200 g body weight and 74.88 mg/200 g body weight, respectively. Results: After the 14-day trial, the average levels of blood glucose on the negative control group (382.92 mg/dl) experienced no decline, and the blood glucose levels amongst groups were statistically different (p<0.05). Conclusion: The anti-diabetic activity of the red dragon fruit peel in the ethanol extract dose 74.88 mg/200 g body weight is statistically equal to the glibenclamide dose 0.09 mg/200 g body weight.