Tinospora cordifolia attenuates oxidative stress and distorted carbohydrate metabolism in experimentally induced type 2 diabetes in rats

Abstract

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder affecting a vast number of people worldwide. Oxidative stress is the causative agent amplifying diabetic complications in various organs by generating noxious amount of free radicals. A huge interest always exists in exploring nutraceuticals from plant materials to replace synthetic drugs in order to overcome their adverse effects and also for economic reasons. The anti-diabetic efficiency of a medicinal plant, Tinospora cordifolia (TC) was studied in experimentally induced type 2 diabetes in Sprague-Dawley rats. Diabetes was induced by a combination of high fat diet (HFD) for a period of 10 weeks followed by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ, 35 mg/kg of body weight). Oral treatment of TC (100 and 200 mg/kg body weight) for 14 days regulated blood glucose, provoked insulin secretion and also suppressed oxidative stress marker, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), formation and restored cellular defence anti-oxidant markers including superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione (GSH), in liver. Treatment with TC (100 and 200 mg/kg) also inhibited glucose 6-phosphatase and fructose 1,6-diphosphatase (p < 0.001); and restored glycogen content in liver (p < 0.005), which was also studied by histopathological staining with periodic acid-Schiff stain. In conclusion, the traditional plant Tinospora cordifolia mediates its anti-diabetic potential through mitigating oxidative stress, promoting insulin secretion and also by inhibiting gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis, thereby regulating blood glucose.

Modulatory effect of Tinospora cordifolia extract on Cd-induced oxidative stress in Wistar rats

“…This may be due to the presence of natural antioxidants in TCE, which help improve the antioxidant status of TCE and CD cotreated rats. Similar results were reported by Sangeetha et al 45 and Agrawal et al 46 in a diabetic rat model.…”

Coadministration of alloxan and nicotinamide in rats produces biochemical changes in blood and pathological alterations comparable to the changes in type II diabetes mellitus

“…Several studies have also suggested that type II DM can be achieved by administering HFD followed by an injection of STZ to produce insulin resistance and glucose intolerance. 13,10 In addition, significant adiponectin reduction has also been noted to play an important role in the development of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. 20,21 The abovementioned induction models have also been reported to exhibit pathological conditions that are similar to those of type II diabetes in humans; however, it has been shown that such attempts have failed to reproduce the complexity of human diabetes.…”

Tinospora cordifolia: One plant, many roles

“…The stem of Tinospora cordifolia is widely used in the therapy of diabetes by regulating the blood glucose[48] in traditional folk medicine of India. It has been reported to mediate its anti-diabetic potential through mitigating oxidative stress (OS), promoting insulin secretion and also by inhibiting gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis, thereby regulating blood glucose.…”

“…It has been reported to mediate its anti-diabetic potential through mitigating oxidative stress (OS), promoting insulin secretion and also by inhibiting gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis, thereby regulating blood glucose. [48] Alkaloids, tannins, cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, saponins, and steroids as the major phytoconstituents[49] of Tinospora cordifolia have been reported to play an anti-diabetic role.…”