Centaurium erythrea (Gentianaceae) leaf extract alleviates streptozotocin-induced oxidative stress and β-cell damage in rat pancreas.

BACKGROUND

Centaurium erytrea is used in traditional medicine for treat urine retention, abdominal colic and diabetes mellitus. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the possible protective effects of Centaurium erythrea leaf extract (CE) against pancreas β-cells' damage and antioxidant defense systems in streptozotocin induced diabetes rats.

METHODS

Experimental diabetes was induced by a single dose of STZ (65 mg/kg) administered by intraperitoneal way. The oxidative stress was measured by tissue MDA levels, protein carbonyl (PCO) content, reduced glutathione (GSH) content and by enzymatic activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in pancreas. Biochemical observations were further substantiated with histological examination of pancreas.

RESULTS

The increase in blood glucose and MDA levels with the decrease in GSH content and in enzymatic activities were the salient features observed in diabetic rats. Administration of CE (200mg/kg bw/day, i.p) for 30 days caused a significant reduction in blood glucose and MDA levels in STZ treated rats when compared with diabetic rats. Furthermore, diabetic rats treated with CE leaf extract showed a significant increase in the activities of both enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants when compared to those of diabetic rats. Degenerative changes of pancreatic β-cells in STZ treated rats were minimized to near normal morphology by administration of CE leaf extract as evidenced by histopathological examination.

CONCLUSIONS

Results clearly indicate that Centaurium erythrea treatment exerts a therapeutic protective nature in diabetes by decreasing oxidative stress and pancreatic β-cells' damage which may be attributed to its antioxidative potential.