Abstract

This study was aimed at evaluating the effects of M. oleifera leaves extract on biochemical physiological parameters, nitric oxide synthase and paraoxonase 1 activities of diabetic model rats. Eighteen Wistar rats were equally split into three groups as follow: control (water), alloxan administration (120mg/kg b.w), and M. oleifera extract treatment (200mg/kg b.w., daily for twenty-one days), with six rats per group. Glucose, triglycerides, glycated hemoglobin, advanced end products, nitrites were measured in serum. In parallel, nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and paraoxonase 1 (PON1) activities were tested in heart. The results showed that alloxan induces alterations in nitric oxide homeostasis and inhibited the activities of constitutive NOS and PON1, resulting in oxidative stress. While the levels of AGEs and HbA1c were elevated in the serum of alloxan-diabetic animals. Oral administration of M. oleifera in diabetic animals reduced the glucose, triglycerides, AGEs and HbA1c. In addition, M. oleifera treatment significantly rescued the cNOS and PON1 compared to nontreated diabetic group. Surprisingly, we observed a significantly activation of PON1 activity in the M. oleifera treatment compared to control group. However, are necessary to further elucidate the activation mechanism. These findings provide a perspective on the cardioprotective effects of diabetic conditions.

Keywords

diabetes mellitus, paraoxonase 1, nitric oxide synthase, moringa oleifera, heart, peroxynitrite, red cells, nitric oxide, cardiovascular system, L-citruline, L-arginine, 2-dihydroxy-coumarin, spectrofluorometer, antioxidant compounds, triglycerides, cytosolic fractions