Comparative study on the effectiveness of pineapple skin and one-time-squeezed desiccated coconut on glucose-induced Wistar rats

Fruit waste-products are produced regularly in huge amounts in almost every part of the world. Since it is known that adequate intake of fruits has been linked to a reduced risk of chronic diseases such as type-2 diabetes. Given the growing number of people with diabetes, different methods of alleviating it like employing fruit by-products is worth exploring. This study investigated the presence of phytochemical contents of two waste-products that came from pineapple and coconut such as peels and desiccated kernels (after one-time squeezed) respectively. This was done by open Sun-drying separately both fruit waste-products for 2 days, and then extracting them using 10 ml of water as a solvent at 90 0C for 2 hours. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of bioactive compounds such as alkaloids, saponins and flavonoids. The researchers also employed the use of 30 Wistar rats that were divided into 5 groups such as: control, PP1- pineapple peel 50%, PP2- pineapple peel 75%, DC1- desiccated coconut 50% and DC2- desiccated coconut 75% in order to compare the effectiveness of both fruit waste-products in the fasting blood sugar level of glucose-induced rats. The results showed the significant difference of the rats’ blood glucose levels in all treatment groups after 3 days of treatment. The results were expressed by F-value which F (4, 25) = 6.307, P = .001. In addition, it also revealed that the one treated with 50% pineapple peel extract has the lowest fasting blood glucose level after the treatment (68.00 mg/dl) followed by 75% pineapple peel extract (71.50 mg/dl), 75% desiccated coconut (89.50 mg/dl), 50% desiccated coconut (97.50 mg/dl) and control group (156mg/dl).