Effects of fenugreek, Nigella, and termis seeds in nonalcoholic fatty liver in obese diabetic albino rats.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIM: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) occurs in approximately 80% of cases of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This study investigated the effects of some plants used in Saudi Arabia as antidiabetic agents on T2DM and associated fatty liver. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 150 adult male albino rats were divided into six experimental groups, each consisting of 25 rats. Twenty-five rats were considered as the control group. Experimental diabetes was induced in the remaining rats by administering a subcutaneous injection of 120 mg/kg of freshly prepared alloxan solution; these rats were classified into five groups: one group did not receive any treatment; the second group was treated with an aqueous extract of a mixture containing fenugreek, Nigella, and termis seeds; the third group was treated with an aqueous extract of Nigella sativa seeds; the fourth group was treated with an aqueous extract of fenugreek seeds; and finally the fifth group was treated with an aqueous extract of termis seeds at a dose of 100 mg/kg body weight. After 4 weeks of treatment, biochemical parameters were calculated, including blood sugar and serum insulin levels. Pancreatic and liver samples were obtained and processed for microscopic evaluation. RESULTS: The usage of each plant alone or a mixture of the plants corrected the glucose and insulin levels. Microscopically, a definite improvement in the number and diameter of ß-cells in the diabetic group was observed. Furthermore, considerable improvement in fatty changes occurring in the liver of experimental animals was observed. The activity of the mixture was the most effective. CONCLUSIONS: The aqueous extract of the seed mixture of the used plants appeared to be a useful agent in improving fatty changes in the liver texture associated with T2DM by reducing hyperglycaemia through an increase in insulin levels, regeneration of ß-cells of the pancreas, and an amelioration of associated dyslipidemia.

Induction of Biologically Active Flavonoids in Cell Cultures of Morus nigra and Testing their Hypoglycemic Efficacy.

The antidiabetic activity of both leaves and MJ-treated cell cultures of Morus nigra was evaluated after their oral administration to streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. The antidiabetic activity of extracts from leaves given to streptozotocin (STZ)-diabetic rats for 10 days increased with increasing doses of leaves extract up to 500 mg/kg/day. The administration of 500 mg/kg/day of leaves extract reduced the concentration of glucose from 370 ± 7.31 mg/dl (control) to 154 ± 6.27 mg/dl, and a significant increase in the insulin level from 11.3 ± 0.31 µU/ml (control) to 14.6 ± 0.43 µU/ml was recorded. Cell suspension cultures were established from the young leaves of Morus nigra cultivated on modified MS medium supplemented with 2.0 mg/l 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), 0.2 mg/l 6-(furfurylamino)purine (kinetin). The changes in cell weight and flavonoid content were monitored between day zero and 12. The linear increase in fresh weight was found to be parallel to flavonoids production. Cell cultures treated with 100 µM methyl jasmonate for 24 hours showed a noticeable increase in level of flavonoids and significant and more effective hypoglycemic activity than that for extract from leaves. The major flavonoids were isolated by TLC and HPLC and identified as rutin, quercetin, Morusin and cyclomorusin by co-chromatography and mass spectrometry in comparison to samples of authentic reference compounds.