Antioxidant, antidiabetic and hypolipidemic effects of Tulbaghia violacea Harv. (wild garlic) rhizome methanolic extract in a diabetic rat model

Abstract

BackgroundThe prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) continues to rise alarmingly despite years of intensive research. The need to explore alternative remedies such as traditional phytotherapy has therefore become increasingly important in the management and treatment of DM.MethodsDiabetes was induced by a single intraperitoneal (i.p) injection of streptozotocin (40 mg/kg.b.w) in male Wistar rats. The rats were divided into 5 groups as follows: non-diabetic control fed distilled water, diabetic control fed distilled water, diabetic group treated with Tulbaghia violacea (TVL) (60 mg/kg.b.w), diabetic group treated with TVL (120 mg/kg.b.w), and diabetic group treated with glibenclamide (10 mg/kg.b.w). Food and water intake, as well as urine output were measured daily, whilst body weight and fasting blood glucose were monitored weekly. On day 42, an oral glucose tolerance test was performed on all groups. After 7 weeks, the animals were sacrificed by halothane overdose, blood was removed by cardiac puncture and tissues were harvested. Assays were performed for the determination of plasma insulin, liver glycogen content, lipid peroxidation, antioxidant enzyme levels, plasma nitric oxide levels and serum lipid and liver enzyme levels.Results and DiscussionTVL treatment improved body weights, significantly reduced fasting blood glucose levels, improved glucose tolerance and significantly increased plasma insulin and liver glycogen content. TVL treatment also reduced liver thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) levels, increased liver superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and increased plasma nitric oxide (NO) levels. Furthermore, TVL administration reduced serum triglycerides, VLDL, total-cholesterol levels and increased HDL-cholesterol levels. TVL also reduced serum levels of liver enzymes, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST).ConclusionData obtained in this study demonstrated the hypoglycemic, antioxidant, hepatoprotective and hypolipidemic effects of TVL in STZ-induced diabetic rats.

Chemical fingerprint and bioactivity evaluation of Globularia orientalis L. and Globularia trichosantha Fisch. & C. A. Mey. using non‐targeted HPLC‐ESI‐QTOF‐MS approach

“…The diabetic population is rapidly increasing and is expected to double by the year 2030, making DM the seventh leading cause of death in the world . Hyperglycemia characterises it due to defects in insulin secretion, action, or both . Several approaches for the management of DM are available, which include hormonotherapy (insulin) or by using glucose‐lowering drugs such as α‐glucosidase and α‐amylase inhibitors.…”

Comparison of the acute effects of <i>Tulbaghia violacea</i> William Henry Harvey (Alliaceae) on blood pressure and heart rate of ageing male normotensive Wistar kyoto rats and adult male spontaneously hypertensive rats

“…Similarly, T. violacea has been reported to inhibit ACE [9,11] and the expression of AT1a mRNA [8]; reduce aldosterone levels in plasma [12], and consequently increase diuresis and natriuresis [8,10] in rats. It has also been found to stimulate the muscarinic receptors [12], block β1 adrenoceptors [12], and improve antioxidant activity [6]. Although the specific mechanisms by which T. violacea reduced BP and HR in the ageing WKY and SHR were not investigated in the current study, we propose that some of the mechanism previously mentioned, with other rats of different ages and genetic make-up [6,[8][9][10][11][12]15], would have contributed to the antihypertensive effect observed.…”

“…(Alliaceae) is common throughout Africa, with the highest concentration in Southern Africa, where it is widely used as herbal remedy for various complaints, including HTN [6,7]. T. violacea has been suggested to have similar secondary metabolites and biological activities as garlic since they belong to the same plant family [6,7], and for these reasons, there has been a recent increase in the number of studies aimed at exploring and/ or confirming the therapeutic potential of T. violacea on the CV system [8][9][10][11][12].…”

Antihyperglycemic and Antihyperlipidemic Activity of HydroponicStevia rebaudianaAqueous Extract in Hyperglycemia Induced by Immobilization Stress in Rabbits

“…It has been reported that most drugs which were used in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia decrease both total and HDL-cholesterol levels [7, 32]. However, SR aqueous extract reduced total cholesterol level and increased HDL-cholesterol level (see Table 1).…”

“…These plants contain biologically active substances so they can be used for therapeutic purposes. Biological action of the medicinal plants is related to active chemical constituents (alkaloids, flavonoids, polyphenols, tannins, triterpenoids, coumarins, and glycosides) usually extending positive effects, because the medicinal properties of plants are due to those chemical constituents [5–7]. The herbal components have similar mechanisms of action as antidiabetic drugs but plants are preferred mainly because of low cost and less side effects.…”