title: Protective effect of Withania somnifera against oxidative stress and pancreatic beta-cell damage in type 2 diabetic rats.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of Withania somnifera (WS) on lipid peroxidation (LPO), activities of both non-enzymatic and enzymatic antioxidants and histopathological examination of pancreas in type 2 diabetic rats. Type 2 diabetes was induced by single intraperitoneal injection of STZ (100 mg/kg) to 2 days old rat pups. Oxidative stress was measured by tissue LPO levels, reduced glutathione (GSH) contents and by enzymatic activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT). Administration of WS to type 2 diabetic rats caused a significant decrease in blood glucose and tissue LPO levels with significant increase in GSH contents when compared with the type 2 diabetic control rats. In addition, WS treated rats also showed a significant increase in the activities of antioxidant enzymes namely GPx, GR, GST, SOD and CAT when compared with type 2 diabetic control rats. Significant reduction in the number and size of pancreatic beta-cells were preserved to near normal morphology by the administration of WS in type 2 diabetic rats as evident from histopathological examination. The results obtained clearly indicate that WS has shown strong free radical scavenging activity and helped in improving the non-enzymatic and enzymatic antioxidants in type 2 diabetic rats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi-110062, India. anwertarique25@yahoo.co.in
authors.forename: Tarique
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Anwer
authors.forename: Manju
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Krishna Kolappa
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Pillai
authors.forename: Gyas
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Khan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005978:Glutathione / Q000378:metabolism; D050417:Insulin-Secreting Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects*; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013311:Streptozocin; D032341:Withania
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts; D013311:Streptozocin; D005978:Glutathione