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In cognizance of the traditional use of the leaves extract of Olea hochstetteri Bak. against several diseases including non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, this study was carried out to determine the effect of prolonged oral administration of aqueous leaves extract of the plant on serum glucose and total cholesterol levels and body weight of rats. Sixty apparently healthy Wistar strain albino rats were separated into 4 equal groups (labeled A-D) and used in the experiment. Rats in groups B-D were given daily oral dose of 250, 500 and 1000 mg kg-1 of aqueous leaves extract of O. hochstetteri Bak., respectively for 21 days while those in group A served as control. At the end of each week, five rats from each group were humanely sacrificed to collect serum for analyses for glucose and total cholesterol. The body weights of the rats were also determined weekly. The result of the study revealed that the extract caused significant (p<0.05) decrease in serum glucose and total cholesterol and body weight of the rats throughout the period of treatment. It was concluded that the extract had hypoglycemic, anticholesterolemic and body weight lowering effects and may be potentially useful against diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia and obesity. Further studies to elaborate more on these effects and on the toxicity of the plant were recommended.
