The effect of olive leaf extract on digestive enzyme inhibition and insulin production in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Abstract

Olive leaf has natural bioactive compounds, mainly oleuropein, that are widely considered to have potentially beneficial effects on health. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of olive leaf extract (OLE) on the inhibition of carbohydrate digestive enzymes, and immunohistochemical study of insulin in the pancreas of in vivo streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Blood glucose levels, insulin, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), α-amylase and α-glucosidase activities, and an immunohistochemical study were performed at the end of the experiment. In the OLE treated group, blood glucose levels and HbA1c significantly decreased while insulin levels increased. Besides this, OLE treated group showed remarkable inhibitory activities on α-amylase and α-glucosidase compared with the Acarbose treated group. It was observed that OLE exhibited partial positive immunoreaction for insulin in β-cells through immunohistochemical analysis. Considering that OLE is more tolerable for digestion system compared to acarbose, it may be a better fitoformulation for antidiabetic medications. OLE could offer an additional beneficial effect for the treatment of diabetes.