CHAPTER II

A. Materials/Equipment
The materials that will be used in this proposal are the laboratory weighing scale, beaker and flasks, reagent bottles, and blender for the extraction of corn silk. Observation cages, feeding plates and water containers will be needed for the acclimatization of the test animals. Glucometer will be used for the determination of the blood glucose level of the test organisms before and after the oral administration of the crude extract.
B. Methodology
a. Collection and Preparation of Plant Materials
Corn silk will be collected from the vendors of corn in Tanza Public Market. The researcher allocates two weeks In order to collect 1 kilogram (kg) of this material. This will then bee washed thoroughly and will be air-dried at room temperature to remove its water content. In this way, extraction of the bioactive components will be easier.
b. Collection and Preparation of Test Animals
The test organisms (Swiss mice) will be purchased from the Bureau of Food and Drug Administration (BFAD) laboratory one week before the experimentation. The mice will be sheltered in separate but identical cages. They will be fed at the same time with the same kind and amount of food and water. This will be done to accustom the mice to the experimental environment (acclimatization). They will be color coded in order to distinguish one from the other.
c. Zea mays (Corn silk) Crude Extraction
The air-dried corn silk will be ground to very fine pieces using blender. The ground silk will then be weighed. Afterwards, the ground corn silk, in coarse powder, will be mixed with sufficient quantity of distilled water in a 1:1 ratio (1 gram of grinded corn silk for every 1 mL of distilled water). It will be kept in a bottle and will be covered properly to ensure that no volatile materials can leave the mixture. It will be allowed to stand for 24 hours.
d. Induction of Diabetes mellitus
Induction of diabetes will be done one day prior to testing of extract on mice. One gram of Alloxan Monohydrate will be diluted in 100 mL of distilled water to form a solution. Blood glucose of the mice will be determined. Alloxan Monohydrate will then be administered orally to the mice. After one day, their blood glucose level will be checked and recorded. The mice with increased post-treatment blood glucose level will be used in the experiment.
e. Determination of Effective Concentration of corn Silk Extract
The corn silk extract will be prepared in 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% concentrations by using distilled water in dilution. Twenty-five (25) diabetic-induced Swiss mice will be used in the experiment with five (4) mice for each concentration.
f. Administration of Extract to Test Organisms
The different concentrations of the extract will be administered orally. On the other hand, the remaining five mice will be administered orally with Normal Saline Solution as negative control. The blood glucose level of the test organisms will be monitored 30, 60 and 90 minutes after administration.
The results will then be recorded and comparative tests will be performed.

In the experiment, the kind of mice, their diet, environment and activities will be controlled. The time to induce diabetes and to administer the extract will also be controlled. On the other hand, the concentrations of corn silk extract that will be given to the test organisms will be varied.