Abstract
Objective: The objective of the study was to study the silymarin’s pancreatoprotective effect in alloxan-induced Type I diabetes mellitus. Numerous studies have evidence to prove the fact that antioxidant defense mechanism of flavonoids has overcome the progression of chronic diabetic complications.
 Methods: A total of 24 male Wistar rats were divided into four groups (n=6): Group I normal control, Group II, Group III, and Group IV were induced diabetes with alloxan. Group I and Group II diabetic rats received the vehicle (PO). Group III was treated with silymarin 400 mg/kg (PO). Group IV was treated with glibenclamide 0.5 mg/kg, per orally for 21 days. Fasting blood samples were collected from all four groups of animals at the end of 21 days to evaluate serum glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c). Pancreatic tissue extraction, to perform lipid peroxidation and histopathological study confirms the level of oxidative damage to tissues and recovery after treatment.
 Results: The serum glucose and HbA1c levels significantly increased in untreated diabetic rats, also a significant rise in lipid peroxidation and necrosis of beta cells in the pancreatic tissue. The rise in serum glucose levels was ameliorated in rats treated with silymarin, pancreatic tissue showed increased antioxidant levels, decreased lipid peroxides, and minimal changes and signs of regeneration of beta cells.
 Conclusion: This study adds experimental evidence to the fact that silymarin is an effective nutritional supplement to treasure pancreatic beta-cell reserve and to delay diabetic complications.
Highlights
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the common metabolic disorders characterized by increased blood glucose levels which is associated with carbohydrate, fat, and protein metabolism abnormalities and leads to chronic micro- and macro-vascular complications [1]
Rats treated with silymarin (400 mg/kg) (Group III) showed a significant reduction in blood glucose levels each week (p
Blood glucose levels were lower on days 7, 14, and 21 which was significant compared to silymarin treated rats (Table 1)
Summary
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the common metabolic disorders characterized by increased blood glucose levels (hyperglycemia) which is associated with carbohydrate, fat, and protein metabolism abnormalities and leads to chronic micro- and macro-vascular complications [1]. According to IDF Atlas 2015 [4], the estimated number population with diabetes worldwide in 2040 will be 642 million. In India, 926 million in 2015 are diagnosed with DM and estimated number in 2040 will be 1.31 billion [5]. Hyperglycemia leads to increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in mitochondria. Kaneto et al [8] reported that in addition to reduction in antioxidant enzymes, beta cells exposed to high glucose concentration showed advanced glycosylated end products
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