Anacardium occidentale leaves extract and riboceine mitigate hyperglycemia through anti-oxidative effects and modulation of some selected genes associated with diabetes

Victor Okoliko Ukwenya; Margaret Olutayo Alese; Babatunde Ogunlade; Ibukun Mary Folorunso; Olaposi Idowu Omotuyi

doi:10.1007/s40200-022-01165-2

Anacardium occidentale leaves extract and riboceine mitigate hyperglycemia through anti-oxidative effects and modulation of some selected genes associated with diabetes

J Diabetes Metab Disord. 2022 Dec 8;22(1):455-468. doi: 10.1007/s40200-022-01165-2. eCollection 2023 Jun.

Authors

Victor Okoliko Ukwenya¹, Margaret Olutayo Alese², Babatunde Ogunlade¹, Ibukun Mary Folorunso³, Olaposi Idowu Omotuyi⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Human Anatomy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Federal University of Technology, Akure, P.M.B 704 Nigeria.
² Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria.
³ Department of Biochemistry, School of Life Sciences, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria.
⁴ Institute for Drug Research and Development, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria.

Abstract

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the leading causes of death globally and complications of DM have become a major health concern. Anacardium occidentale is a plant widely recognized for its hypoglycemic properties and traditionally used in developing nations as remedy for DM treatment. Riboceine is a supplement that enhances production of glutathione and known for its vital role in supporting cellular function. This study was designed to evaluate the antidiabetic and antioxidant potential of riboceine and ethanolic extract of A. occidentale leaves in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats.

Method: Twenty-nine adult male Wistar rats were induced with DM intraperitoneally using a single dose of STZ (70 mg/kg). The STZ-induced rats were divided into groups and administered the same dose (100 mg/kg) of A. occidentale leaves extract and riboceine via gastric gavage at the dose (100 mg/kg) for seventeen days while metformin (40 mg/kg) was used as positive control. Fasting blood glucose and weight of the model rats were examined periodically. Activities of total protein, creatinine, urea, antioxidants (SOD, GSH and GPX), and level of serum insulin were determined. Expression of diabetes related genes including pancreas (Insulin, pdx-1, P16NK4A, and Mki-67), Liver (FAS, ACC, and GFAT) and KIM-1 genes were also determined.

Results: Data showed that treatment of STZ-induced diabetic rats with A. occidentale and riboceine at the same dose significantly (p < 0.05) ameliorated hyperglycemic effects by improving hepatic and renal functions and antioxidants, preventing hepatic fat accumulation by downregulation of ACC, FAS and GFAT expression, improving β-cell functions through up-regulation of pancreatic insulin, P16NK4A, Mki-67 and pdx-1 expression. Induction of diabetes upregulated mRNA expression of KIM-1, which was ameliorated after treatment of the rats with A. occidentale and riboceine.

Conclusion: The results obtained in this study demonstrate significant antidiabetic properties of ethanolic extract of A. occidentale and riboceine.

Keywords: A. occidentale; Antioxidants; Diabetes mellitus; Gene expression; Glucose; Hyperglycemia.

© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Tehran University of Medical Sciences 2022. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.