Silymarin from Milk Thistle Fruits Counteracts Selected Pathological Changes in the Lenses of Type 1 Diabetic Rats

Abstract

Diabetes is a metabolic disease affecting many tissues and organs. The main etiological factor for diabetic complications is hyperglycemia and subsequent pathologies, such as oxidative stress. One of the organs susceptible to the development of diabetic complications is the eye with all of its elements, including the lens. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of silymarin, an extract obtained from milk thistle fruit husks, on the oxidative stress markers in the lenses of type 1 diabetic rats. The study was performed on male rats in which type 1 diabetes was induced with 60 mg/kg streptozotocin injection. Diabetic animals were treated via an intragastric tube with silymarin at 50 and 100 mg/kg doses for four weeks. Multiple oxidative stress and polyol pathway-related parameters were measured in the lenses, and auxiliary biochemical tests in the serum were conducted. Diabetes induced severe pathological changes both in the lenses and the serum, and silymarin counteracted several of them. Nevertheless, the qualitative analyses encompassing all tested parameters indicate that silymarin slightly improved the overall state of diabetic animals. Upon the obtained results, it can be concluded that silymarin reveals a faint positive effect on the lenses in type 1 diabetic rats.

Silymarin reduces retinal microvascular damage in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

“…The animals of control and diabetic groups orally received vehicle (distilled water). In treatment groups, diabetic rats orally received 50 or 100 mg/kg of silymarin 19 , 20 once daily for 8 weeks 21 , 22 . Silymarin (S0292) was purchased from Sigma Company (USA) and prepared in a vehicle with 1.5 ml/kg distilled water.…”

“…To induce type 1 diabetes in the rats assigned to groups 2, 3, and 4, the animals received an intravenous injection of STZ (60 mg/kg; Sigma, USA) prepared in sodium citrate buffer (10 mM, pH 4.5) 19 , 23 , 24 . The animals in group 1 received the same volume of sodium citrate buffer from the same person.…”