1.0 Introduction
The use of dietary legumes have been reported to influence glycoami and lipiddaemia in man and experimental animals. (Mahnow et l. 1980; Bingwem et al., 1981, Molgaard et l. 1987; Donatucei et al. 1987).
(anaralis ensiformis DC (family: leguminosaae) variously known as jack beans, though a nature of central America and west idnies has been widely cultivated in the Lumed tropics of Africa and Asia. The seeds have been reported to possess antihypercholesterolaemic (Marfo et al., 1990) and hypoglycemic (enyikwola et al., 1991) activities.
Diabetics mellitus is a syndrome characterizing by chronic hyperglycemic and disturbances of carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism associated with absolute or relative deficiencies in insulin secretion and/or insulin action (Bennet, 1994).
Patients, with this disease are generally classified as either type I (insulin dependent) or type 2 (non — insulin and dependent) diabetics. For oth types of diabetes, control of blood glucose levels, lipids leels,blood pressure and weight will reduce the rise of vascular problems and associated diseases (Williams, 1994).
Earlier work on the effect of (ensiforms on normal and alloxan induced diabetic rats showed statistically significant decreases in blood and arising urinary glucose weight loss to the treated diabetic animals (Nimen bo — Uadia and Osagie, 1999).
This study reports the effect of C. ensiforms on total senior cholesterol, HSL — cholesterol and LDL — cholesterol in alloxan — induced diabetic rats.
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