Adiponectin, insulin and nitric oxide levels in hyperlipidemia and hypercholesterolemia in addition to streptozotocin-indined diabetes mellitus and normal rats intraperitonially injected with anthocyanin and epicatechin extracts

ABSTRACT

Normal and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats were intraperitonially injected with hibiscus anthocyanin [90 mg/Kg bw] and green tea epicatechin [60 mg/Kg bw] extracts daily for two weeks. In addition, normal and diabetic rats were force fed on high-fat diet for two weeks. Rats suffering from hypercholesterolemia were used for induction of diabetes mellitus and fed on a hypercholesterolemic diet for two weeks using non-diabetic hypercholesterolemic rats as positive control. At the end of the experiment, serum glucose insulin, adiponectin, nitric oxide and lipid profile were measured. Anthocyanin and epicatechin extracts significantly decreased the elevated levels of glucose, nitric oxide, triglycerides, total cholesterol and LDL-C in serum of diabetic rats, while adiponectin was slightly increased. The concentrations of serum glucose, nitric oxide, triglycerides, total cholesterol and LDL-C were greatly increased, while adiponectin level was significantly decreased in diabetic rats fed high-fat or high-cholesterol diets. These results indicate that increased nitric oxide and [or] decreased adiponectin in serum may result in increasing the glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol and LDL-C levels in diabetic, hyperlipidemic and hypercholesterolemic rats