Abstract
This study aims to assess the safety of the Opuntia dillenii (Ker-Gawl) haw. seed oil (ODSO) and its effect on the glucose absorption activity of the isolated rat hemidiaphragm. This oil’s safety was studied by exploring its acute (doses 1, 3, 5, and 7 mL/kg) and subacute (doses 1 and 2 mL/kg) toxicities in albino mice and Wistar rats, respectively. The safety of the ODSO was also assessed by studying its effect on the HepG2 cell viability in vitro. The effect of ODSO, or combined with the insulin, on the glucose absorption activity of isolated rat hemidiaphragm was evaluated at the dose 1 g/L in vitro. The results demonstrated the safety of ODSO. Indeed, this study showed that this oil does not produce any mortality or signs of toxicity after the single-dose administration in mice. Additionally, the daily intake of the ODSO during four weeks does not induce a significant variation in the biochemical parameters and body weight of rats compared with the control group. Besides, the cell viability of HepG2 did not change in the presence of ODSO. On the other hand, the ODSO increased the glucose absorption activity of the isolated rat hemidiaphragm, and this activity was significantly enhanced when combined with insulin. This study confirms, on one side, the safety of this oil and its efficacy and, on the other side, encourages its potential use as a complement to treat diabetes.
Highlights
Pear Opuntia dillenii (Ker-Gawl) Haw., located in the west and northeastMorocco, is a species from the Cactus family
The results showed that the change in body weight in the rats treated with ODSO was similar to that in the control group
We began with the acute toxicity test in Swiss albino mice using a dose range to determine essentially the lethal dose 50 (LD50), the maximum tolerable dose, and the observable-effect
Summary
Pear Opuntia dillenii (Ker-Gawl) Haw., located in the west and northeastMorocco, is a species from the Cactus family. Many studies investigated the toxicological and biological effect of the pear, juice, and cladode of O. dillenii, but a few were interested in the seed oil’s nutritional benefit and biological activities. The analyzed seed oil’s components demonstrated that it contains considerable amounts of linoleic acid and sterols (unsaturated fatty acids), such as β-sitosterol and the presence of γ-tocopherol (vitamin E) [2]. The oil is characterized by the presence of other substances such as phenols, well known for their health benefit [3,4]. Several kinds of research on this plant’s fruit seed oil have shown that it has numerous activities such as antioxidant [5], hepatoprotective [6], antilipidemic, antidiabetic, and antidiabetogenic [7,8]
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