Management of Hyperglycaemia by Ethyl Acetate Extract of Balanites aegyptiaca (Desert Date)

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 20; no. 8; pp. 14425 - 14434
• Main Authors: Al-Malki, Abdulrahman L, Barbour, Elie K, Abulnaja, Kalid O, Moselhy, Said S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 07-08-2015; MDPI
• Subjects: Acetates - chemistry; Acids; Animals; antidiabetic; Antidiabetics; Antioxidants; Balanites - chemistry; Balanites aegyptiaca; Biochemistry; Blood Glucose - metabolism; Diabetes; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental - blood; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental - drug therapy; Diabetic retinopathy; Diabetic Retinopathy - blood; Diabetic Retinopathy - drug therapy; Disease Models, Animal; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; ethyl acetate extract; Glucose; Hyperglycemia; Hyperglycemia - blood; Hyperglycemia - drug therapy; inflammatory cytokines; Kinases; Male; Natural products; Oxidative stress; Oxidative Stress - drug effects; Pathogenesis; Plant Extracts - isolation & purification; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Rats; Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism; Retina; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; Vascular endothelial growth factor; Saudi Arabia; ethyl acetate extract; antidiabetic; inflammatory cytokines; Balanites aegyptiaca
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules200814425

Reactive oxygen species play a significant role in the pathogenesis of retinopathy in diabetes patients. The current study aimed to assess the effect of ethyl acetate extract (EAE) from Balanites aegyptiaca (10, 25 or 50 mg/kg b.w.) in experimental diabetic rats. To achieve this aim, five groups of male rats were included: control, diabetic, and diabetic rats treated with 10, 25, and 50 µg/kg b.w. of EAE for eight weeks. Our results suggests a protective role of EAE against oxidative stress induced by streptozocine. EAE treatment produced a reduction in blood glucose levels, HbA1c, malondialdehyde and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in diabetic retina (p < 0.001), as well as an enhancement in antioxidant capacity against streptozocine-induced oxidative stress. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL-1β) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were significantly reduced in diabetic rats treated with EAE, compared with untreated diabetic rats. Analysis of EAE by GC-MS indicated the presence of β-sistosterol. Overall, EAE modulates oxidative stress induced by streptozocine and enhances antioxidant activity, which may provide additional endothelial protection in retina of diabetic rats. These results hold great promise in the management of diabetic complications.