NEWS RELEASE: July 8, 2026
The study was conducted by Raj Kumari , Professor and Dean at I.T.S College of Pharmacy, Muradnagar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, and is published in Glucolipid Metabolic Disorders (In Press, available online ).
Diabetes rarely occurs alone—it is frequently accompanied by abnormal cholesterol and fat levels in the blood, along with cellular damage from oxidative stress, both of which raise the risk of complications such as heart disease. A new study, published in Glucolipid Metabolic Disorders , investigated whether a common tropical fruit plant, guava ( Psidium guajava ), could help address both problems at once.
Why Guava was studied for Diabetes
Guava has a long history of use in traditional medicine across tropical and subtropical regions, and various parts of the plant have previously been studied for a range of health effects. This study focused specifically on an aqueous (water-based) guava extract, referred to as PsAq, and tested it in a well-established animal model of diabetes to determine whether it could improve only blood sugar levels or address the lipid (fat and cholesterol) imbalances and oxidative damage that often accompany the disease.
How the Study Was Designed
Researchers induced diabetes in albino Wistar rats using a single injection of streptozotocin (STZ), a compound commonly used in lab research to damage insulin-producing cells and produce a diabetes-like condition. Diabetic rats then received oral doses of guava extract at 150 mg/kg or 250 mg/kg body weight daily for 21 days. Afterward, the researchers measured a range of biochemical markers: fasting blood glucose; several types of blood cholesterol and fats (total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, VLDL, and HDL); a calculated "atherogenic index" reflecting cardiovascular risk; and multiple measures of oxidative stress and antioxidant activity in tissue.
What the Extract Showed
The guava extract significantly lowered fasting blood glucose in diabetic rats. On the lipid side, treated animals showed reductions in total cholesterol, triglycerides, and the "bad" cholesterol fractions, LDL and VLDL, alongside an increase in HDL, the cholesterol type generally considered protective for heart health—together described by the researchers as antihyperlipidemic and antiatherogenic effects. The extract also reduced lipid peroxidation, a marker of oxidative damage to fats in tissues, while boosting levels of glutathione, one of the body's key natural antioxidants, and improving the activity of several antioxidant enzymes.
What the Findings Suggest
Taken together, the findings suggest that guava extract acts through more than one mechanism: helping control blood sugar, improving some of the lipid imbalances associated with diabetes, and strengthening the body's antioxidant defenses against the free-radical damage that chronic hyperglycemia tends to cause. The researchers describe this combination as particularly relevant, given how closely oxidative stress and lipid abnormalities are linked to diabetes-related complications.
What Comes Next?
This is an animal study, and as with any preclinical research, results in rats do not automatically translate to humans. The authors present their findings as evidence supporting the potential of guava as a natural therapeutic option for managing diabetes and its commonly associated conditions, hyperlipidemia and oxidative stress. However, these findings should be regarded as a rationale for further investigation rather than as evidence of an established treatment.
About the Corresponding Author
Raj Kumari (corresponding author, marked with an asterisk in the original publication) is Professor and Dean at I.T.S College of Pharmacy, Muradnagar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. Her research centers on pharmacognosy and phytochemistry.
Article title: Therapeutic Effects of Psidium guajava on Lipids and Pancreatic Antioxidants in Streptozotocin-induced Diabetic Rats
Read the article here : https://bit.ly/4b5s13I
Glucolipid Metabolic Disorders
10.2174/0129499011433204260702182239
Therapeutic Effects of Psidium guajava on Lipids and Pancreatic Antioxidants in Streptozotocin-induced Diabetic Rats