The Antioxidant Activities of Betula etnensis Rafin. Ethanolic Extract Exert Protective and Anti-diabetic Effects on Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetes in Rats.

Giuseppe Antonio Malfa,Rosaria Acquaviva,Claudia Di Giacomo,Marcella Renis,Monica Ragusa,Francesco Pappalardo,Alfonsina La Mantia,Barbara Tomasello

doi:10.3390/antiox9090847

Giuseppe Antonio Malfa, Rosaria Acquaviva + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox9090847

Copy DOI

Journal: Antioxidants	Publication Date: Sep 10, 2020
Citations: 15	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Catania, Magna Graecia University

Abstract

Pathophysiological mechanisms correlating diabetes mellitus with associated complications are still not completely clear, even though oxidative stress seems to play a pivotal role. Literature data suggest that cell damages induced by hyperglycemia, although multifactorial, have a common pathway in oxidative/nitrosative stress. The present study evaluated the effects of Betula etnensis Raf. bark extract, a plant belonging to the Betulaceae family endemic to Sicily, on oxidative stress and in preventing and/or retarding diabetes-associated complications in streptozotocin diabetic rats treated with the extract at dose of 0.5 g/kg body weight per day for 28 consecutive days. The extract administration significant decreased food and water intake, fasting blood glucose, weight loss and polyuria, compared with untreated diabetic animals. Furthermore, oxidative stress markers particularly, lipid hydroperoxides (LOOH) and nitrite/nitrate levels, non-proteic thiol groups (RSH), γ-glutamyl-cysteine-synthetase (γ-GCS) activities and expression, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), endothelial and inducible nitric oxide synthases (i-NOS e-NOS) expression, significantly changed by streptozocin treatment, were markedly restored both in plasma and tissues together with nuclear sirtuins activity (Sirt1). Results suggested that B. etnensis bark alcoholic extract is able to counteract oxidative stress and to ameliorate some general parameters related to diabetes.

Highlights

The WHO defines diabetes as a multiple metabolic disorder, characterized by chronic hyperglycemia with impaired metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and proteins, resulting from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action or both [1]
The established altered state is associated with Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) overproduction that leads to a condition of oxidative stress that is involved in the pathogenesis and progression of diabetes and diabetes-associated complications [30]
For the first time, we evaluated in vivo the effect of the administration of B. etnensis bark extract on some general diabetes-related parameters and on some key biochemical markers of oxidative stress conditions in streptozocin-induced diabetes in rats

Summary

Introduction

The WHO defines diabetes as a multiple metabolic disorder, characterized by chronic hyperglycemia with impaired metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and proteins, resulting from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action or both [1]. Common effector mechanisms can cause this deficit: immunological stimuli in type 1 diabetes and metabolic and/or inflammatory factors in the type 2 converge on common pathways of signal transduction leading to functional alterations and cell destruction. In both cases, oxidative stress may play a key role in determining the functional deficits that lead to the progressive loss of beta cells [2]. The onset of insulin resistance and dysfunction of pancreatic beta cells appear to be due to increased oxidative stress with a concomitant reduction of antioxidant systems

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion