Effect on hyperglycemia and pancreas cells of chaya aqueous extracts from two different regions in streptozotocin-induced diabetes rats

Cnidoscolus chayamansa is a native plant of the Mayan region, which is also cultivated in other places like northern Mexico, Tunisia and India. Many properties are attributed to Mayan Chaya, such as aid in the control of glycemia in diabetics. Thus this study aimed to evaluate the hypoglycemic effects of chaya aqueous extracts in a model of streptozotisin-induced diabetic Wistar rats. Chaya aqueous extracts were collected from plants cultivated in Quinta Roo (Mayan region) and Durango (northern Mexico), and in this study we compare their effect with metformin (as a control). Additionally, we compared the extracts mass profiles from both regions by high-resolution liquid chromatography coupled to a triple quadrupole tandem mass detector (HPLC-MS/MS QQQ). Finally, a study of the pancreatic tissue was carried out to evaluate the effects of the extracts on the Langerhans islets. Both extracts showed a good hypoglycemic effect after two weeks of treatment, and the Langerhans islets showed a partial recovery due to the effect of the treatment. Although the plants were cultivated at a distance of 2,350 km and under different weather, the compounds found in both did not show significant differences.

Ameliorative Activity of Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) Fruit and Seeds Powders on Diabetic, Oxidative and Pancreatic Status in Rats

Background:Diabetes mellitus is the one of the most common endocrine diseases that is characterized by hyperglycemia, altered metabolism with an increased risk of much complications. Besides drugs classicallyused for the treatment of diabetes several species of plants have been described as having a hypoglycemic activity with decreased side effects. Aim of the Work:This work aimed to investigate the possible anti-diabetic effect of oral administration of pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) fruit flesh and seeds powders on Streptozotocin induced diabetic rats via studying blood glucose levels, oxidative biomarkers as well as islets of Langerhans structure changes.Materials and Methods:60 adult albino rats of Sprague-Dawely strains (200±5 gm) were classified into five groups of ten animals each except diabetic control group was composed of twenty rats as follow Group I:healthy control;Group II:diabetic control ,Group III,IVandV: diabetic rats received 2g pumpkin fruit, seeds, fruit and seeds mixture powders respectively /kg body weight daily by oral intubation Results:The results of present study showed that pumpkin powders caused significant improvements (P≤0.05) in blood glucose, insulin levels and glycated hemoglobin percent compared to diabetic control group. Also pumpkin powders improved antioxidants activities andhealed Langerhans islets by increasing their number and size in comparison with diabetic control group. Conclusion:The present study showed that pumpkin powders may normalize the various biochemical and pancreatic tissues abnormalities resulted due to diabetes metabolic disorders and it is a source of potent anti-diabetic agent. The diabetic rats that were administered with the pumpkin fruit powder, exhibited the highest improvements.

Insulinorresistencia / Insulin resistance

La resistencia insulínica o insulinorresistencia (IR) es una disminución en la función biológica de esta hormona caracterizada por un alto nivel de la insulina plasmática que es requerido para mantener la homeostasis metabólica.Se ha estimado que aproximadamente un 25% de individuos tienen IR. Su estudio ha cobrado gran importancia en los últimos años en el ámbito médico, pues se ha demostrado que la IR conduce al desarrollo de un “síndrome de insulinorresistencia” (SIR), que comprende un conjunto de alteraciones metabólicas (hiperinsulinismo, obesidad visceral, hipertensión arterial sistólica y diastólica y dislipidemia). Todas estas alteraciones son factores de riesgo conocidos de enfermedad cardiovascular, siendo ésta una de las principales causas de morbilidad y mortalidad a nivel mundial. Fue Reaven quien en 1988 sugirió que la diabetes mellitus, la hipertensión arterial y la dislipemia eran factores que tendían a ocurrir en un mismo individuo en la forma de un síndrome, al que denominó “X”, en el que la IR constituía el mecanismo fisiopatológico básico.El incremento en la incidencia de enfermedades como la diabetes tipo 2, enfermedad cardiovascular y obesidad, es producido en muchos casos, por el aumento en la prevalencia de IR en la población, lo que podría atribuirse, en parte, a los cambios en el estilo de vida que ha experimentado la sociedad occidental a lo largo de las últimas décadas.

Insulin resistance (IR) is a decrease of the biological function of this hormone characterized by a high level of plasmic insulin which is required for the metabolic homeostasis.It is estimated that approximately 25% of people have IR. Its’ study has acquired great importance in the last years, because it has been demonstrated to lead to an insulin resistance syndrome (IRS), which includes various metabolic disorders: hiperinsulinesm, visceral obesity, systolic and diastolic hypertension, dislipidemia. All these alterations are well known to be risk factors for coronary heart disease, constituting one of the main causes of morbimortality worldwide.It was reaven who suggested in 1988, that diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension and dislipidemia are factors which tended to occur in this the same individual as a syndrome, which he demonstrated “X”, where the IR constituted the basic fisiopathological mechanism.The increase in the incidence of diseases such as DM2, cardiovascular disease, and obesity is due mainly, to the increase in the prevalence of IR among the population, which could be attributed to the life style changes experimented by the occidental society during the last decades.