Abstract
Caralluma europaea (Guss.) N.E.Br. (C. europaea), is a medicinal plant used traditionally to treat diabetes mellitus (DM) in Morocco. This study aimed to investigate the in vitro antioxidant properties, glucose diffusion effects, α-amylase inhibitory activity, and pancreatic protective effects of C. europaea in experimental alloxan-induced diabetes in mice. Total phenolic contents were determined by Folin–Ciocalteu colorimetric method, total flavonoid contents were measured by aluminum chloride colorimetric assay, and tannins contents were determined by employing the vanillin method. C. europaea ethyl acetate fraction exhibited high antioxidant potential in terms of radical scavenging (DPPH) (IC50 = 0.22 ± 0.01 mg/mL), β-carotene bleaching activity (IC50 = 1.153 ± 0.07 mg/mL), and Ferric-reducing antioxidant power. Glucose diffusion was significantly inhibited by the ethyl acetate fraction at 60,120and 180 min, while the aqueous extract did not have this inhibitory effect when compared with the control group. Potent α-amylase inhibitory activity was observed in the ethyl acetate fraction and the aqueous extract in vitro and in vivo using STZ-diabetic rats. On the other hand, the administration of the ethyl acetate fraction (60 mg/kg) significantly attenuated alloxan-induced death and hyperglycemia in treated mice. Furthermore, histopathological investigations revealed that the ethyl acetate fraction protected islets of Langerhans against alloxan-induced tissue alterations. These results suggest that C. europaea exhibited an important antihyperglycemic effect via the inhibition of glucose diffusion and pancreatic α-amylase activity. In addition, the antidiabetogenic effect of C. europaea might be attributed to their polyphenol and flavonoid compounds, which could be reacted alone, or in synergy, to scavenge the free radicals produced by the alloxan.
Highlights
Diabetes mellitus (DM), is a group of metabolic disorders that is characterized by a high blood glucose level, mainly caused by insufficient insulin production or unresponsiveness of the body to insulin or both [1,2]
We studied C. europaea of Morocco to investigate its preventive effect against diabetes
The findings obtained in the present study showed that the ethyl acetate fraction of C. europaea contained the lowest quantity in polyphenols, flavonoids, and tannins
Summary
Diabetes mellitus (DM), is a group of metabolic disorders that is characterized by a high blood glucose level (hyperglycemia), mainly caused by insufficient insulin production or unresponsiveness of the body to insulin or both [1,2]. The postprandial hyperglycemia takes part in the development of numerous diabetes complications such as nephropathy, retinopathy, neuropathy, and diabetic foot ulcer [3,4]. Antioxidants 2021, 10, 1747 diabetic patients [5,6] This is accomplished by inhibiting the enzymes involved in the digestion of carbohydrates such as α-amylase [6,7]. Inhibiting α-amylase could be an effective way to reduce starch digestibility, decrease the rate of glucose absorption, and reduce postprandial hyperglycemia [8,9,10]. Oxidative stress is an imbalance between the production of oxygen reactive species (ROS) and antioxidant defenses [13]. It is believed that oxygen reactive species have been implicated in the etiology and development of vascular complications in diabetes [14,15,16]. Free radical formation in diabetes leads to damage of the biomolecules such as lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids, and induces the appearance of long-term diabetic complications [17,18]
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