Hypolipidemic Effects of Non-Bitter Cucumis Metuliferus (Thorn Melon) Fruit Extract in A High-Fat/Fructose Diet and Streptozotocin-Induced Type II Diabetes Mellitus in Wistar Albino Rats

Globally, dyslipidemia remains a lifestyle-associated disease, with ageing and metabolic disorders like diabetes mellitus increasing its risk. The World Health Organization estimates that dyslipidemia is associated with approximately 50% of the global cases of ischemic heart disease, which accounts for over 40% of deaths related to cardiovascular diseases. Today, cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death, accounting for about 31% of worldwide mortality, and is predicted to remain like that in 2030. Although the non-bitter Cucumis metuliferus fruit is used by some communities, such as the Kikuyu in Kenya, to manage type 2 diabetes mellitus, its therapeutic benefits have not been adequately studied. The study aimed to determine the effects of non-bitter Cucumis metuliferus fruit extract on the lipid profile in Wistar albino rats fed a high-fat/fructose diet and streptozotocin-induced type II diabetes. This study adopted a laboratory-based experimental design. A sample size of 64 male Wistar albino rats, aged 5 weeks and weighing 90 to 130 grams, was randomly assigned to two major study groups: the control and the experimental. The experimental group received a high-fat/fructose diet and a streptozotocin (STZ) injection to induce diabetes mellitus, whereas the control group received a standard rodent pellet diet and 0.9% normal saline. The experimental group was further divided into a positive control group treated with pioglitazone (the standard drug) at 20 mg/kg body weight, a low-dose CMFE group at 200 mg/kg body weight, and a high-dose CMFE group at 400 mg/kg body weight. Serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein, and high-density lipoprotein were measured, and the results were compared between groups. The study findings revealed a significant statistical rise in serum total cholesterol (P < 0.001), triglycerides (P = 0.019), low-density lipoprotein (P = 0.016) and mean total body weight (P = 0.033) after treatment with high-fat/fructose diet, which was followed by a decline to levels comparable to the control group after treatment with CMFE and pioglitazone. Similarly, there was a significant decrease (P = 0.004) in the beneficial high-density lipoproteins after a substantial high-fat/fructose diet, followed by a significant increase (P = 0.001) after CMFE and pioglitazone. This study concludes that the non-bitter Cucumis metuliferus fruit extract possesses hypolipidemic properties in type II diabetes mellitus.