Evaluation of Hypoglycaemic and Antioxidant Activity of Moringa oleifera Root in Normal and Alloxan-Induced Diabetic Rats

Abstract

Moringa oleifera is traditionally used for treatment of diarrhea, diabetes mellitus, rheumatism, venomous bites, for cardiac stimulation and as a diuretic. The aim of this study was to investigate the hypoglycaemic and antioxidant activity of M. oleifera root in normal and alloxan-induced diabetic rats. The root was extracted with n-hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol successively using soxhlet apparatus. All the extracts were subjected to phytochemical screening and toxicity study. The powder and methanol extracts were subjected to anti-diabetic evaluation using alloxaninduced diabetes in rats for 28 days. Glibenclamide was used as standard drug. The anti-diabetic effect of the extract was evaluated by measuring changes in blood glucose level, haematological indices, biochemical parameters, oxidative stress biomarkers and pancreatic tissue. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, carbohydrate, cardiac glycosides and saponins. LD50 was above 5000 mg/kg and did not cause mortality in all the tested rats. Both the methanol extract and powdered root showed significant reduction (p<0.05) in blood glucose level after treatment. Also, the concentrations of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) increased significantly (p<0.05) as compared with the diabetic control. Histopathological examination of the pancreas from diabetic rats showed degenerative changes in β-cells. In the treatment groups, there was a significant reversal to the damage done to the islet of Langerhans. This study has shown that M. oleifera root possesses hypoglycaemic effect and ameliorates other adverse diabetic conditions imposed by alloxan-induced diabetes on the experimental rats.

Moringa Oleifera Lam. in Cardiometabolic Disorders: A Systematic Review of Recent Studies and Possible Mechanism of Actions

“…Fifty-two studies provided the antioxidative mechanism of MO concerning its anti-hyperglycemia, anti-hyperlipidemia, antihypertensive effects, and protective effects in the vascular, kidney, and cardiac. MO lowers blood glucose levels and improves insulin secretion in a diabetic rat model by reducing MDA and 8-OH-dG, increasing GSH concentrations, GPx, SOD, and catalase activities ( Gupta et al, 2012 ; Al-Malki and El Rabey, 2015 ; Arise et al, 2016 ; Abd Eldaim et al, 2017 ; Omodanisi et al, 2017 ; Paula et al, 2017 ; Tang et al, 2017 ; Umar et al, 2018 ; Aju et al, 2019 ; Abdel-Daim et al, 2020 ; Oldoni et al, 2021 ).…”

Moringa oleifera: An Unknown Crop in Developed Countries with Great Potential for Industry and Adapted to Climate Change

“…M. oleifera has approximately 46 antioxidants, that is, it is one of the most powerful sources of natural antioxidants that help cells neutralize the effect of free radicals [ 71 ]. M. oleifera leaves are rich in flavonoids and also contain essential micronutrients with antioxidant activity or are directly related to this process, such as selenium or zinc [ 59 ].…”

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“…A wide range of content in the studied parameters of blood serum or plasma for the selected model of alloxan matrix, also it is related to the average value of urea concentration, total protein, creatinine, the activity of enzymes 39,40 . But the vast majority of data is characterized by a tendency to a significant increase in the activity of enzymes in terms of alloxan-induced DM 41 .…”