Scientific African (Dec 2024)
Erythrina lysistemon Hutch. abates deranged metabolic indices linked with diabetic complications in experimental rat model
Abstract
Erythrina lysistemon Hutch. is an underutilized medicinal plant used locally to manage some diseases, especially amongst the native dwellers in Southern Africa. This study investigated the in vivo activity of E. lysistemon bark extract on animal models of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and complications vis-a-vis the effects on pancreatic functional enzymes and morphology, serum biochemical profile, and hepatic glucose metabolism. Respective diabetic rats in low and high-dose plant extract groups were respectively administered with 150 mg /kg bw and 300 mg/kg bw extract orally with a gavage needle for 5 days a week with 2 days of rest from intubation-related stress. After 6 weeks of treatment with the plant sample extract, water and food intake, weekly blood glucose and insulin resistance indices scores in the treatment animal groups were significantly reduced than in the untreated diabetic group. The E. lysistemon plant extract also restored insulin, high density lipoprotein, and glycosylated haemoglobin content in the serum as well as pancreatic islet ultrastructure and β-cell population to the levels those are comparable with the normal animal groups. While the plant extract slightly increased glycogen content and suppressed glucose-6-phosphatase in the liver, it phytoconstituents showed strong affinity with selected antioxidant and digestive enzymes active site amino acid residues. This study, for the first time, showed that E. lysistemon stem bark contains phrenologically active phytoconstituents that could be investigated further as sources of lead molecules for mitigating the pathophysiology of diabetes. Further in-depth molecular studies are still required to understand the mechanism behind the observed antidiabetic properties.
