Antioxidant Activities of Caralluma tuberculata on Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats.

Preclinical Research The aim of this study was to elucidate the antioxidant effects of Caralluma tuberculata (C. tuberculata) in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced in male Wistar rats with an intraperitoneal injection of STZ at dose of 60 mg/kg body weight. Three days after diabetes induction, powdered aerial part of plant at doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight were gavaged orally for a period of 45 days. The diabetes significantly decreased the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and level of total thiol in liver, kidney, and heart of animals (P < 0.05). In contrast, a significant increase in the levels of protein carbonyl was observed in diabetic rats compared with control animals (P < 0.05). Oral treatment of diabetic rats with C. tuberculata showed ameliorative effects on blood glucose and markers of oxidative stress in a dose-dependent manner. Altered levels of all oxidative stress parameters in tissues of diabetic rats reverted back to those normal animals after the treatment with dose of 200 mg/kg /day of plant materials. It seems that the appropriate dose of C. tuberculata has both antihyperglycemic and antioxidant activities in STZ-induced diabetic rats. Therefore, it can have preventive properties on oxidative stress-induced diabetic complications. Drug Dev Res 76 : 40-47, 2015.