title: Effect of Spirulina platensis ingestion on the abnormal biochemical and oxidative stress parameters in the pancreas and liver of alloxan-induced diabetic rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous studies have shown that Spirulina platensis Gomont (Phormidiaceae) (SP) extract has beneficial effects on many disease conditions. The putative protective effects of SP were investigated in diabetic rats.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The current study investigates the antioxidant effects of SP in diabetic Wistar rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Alloxan monohydrate (150 mg/kg body weight) was intraperitoneally administrated to induce diabetes. An aqueous suspension of SP powder in distillate water (10% w/v) was administrated orally by gavage (1 mL/day) for 50 days. Histopathological, biochemical and antioxidant analyses were performed. Glycemia, liver function and HOMA-IR were assessed using Spinreact and ELISA kits.
  
  
  RESULTS
  SP exhibited high-antioxidant activity. The IC50values of the SP aqueous extract were 70.40 and 45.69 mg/L compared to those of the standard antioxidant BHT, which were 27.97 and 19.77 mg/L, for the DPPH and ABTS tests, respectively. The diabetic animals showed a significant increase in glycaemia (from 4.05 to 4.28 g/L) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (50.17 mmol/g protein) levels. Treatment with SP significantly reduced glycaemia by 79% and liver function markers [glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT), glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT) and alkaline phosphatase (Alk-p)]) by 25, 36 and 20%, respectively, compared to that of the controls. There was a significant increase in superoxide dismutase (48%), total antioxidant status (43%), glutathione peroxidase (37%) and glutathione reductase (16%) in the diabetic rats treated with SP.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results showed that SP has high antioxidant activity, free radical scavenging, antihyperglycemic and hepatoprotective effects in diabetes.
authors.affiliation: a Food Technology and Human Nutrition Laboratory , École Nationale Supérieure Agronomique (ENSA) , Algiers , Algeria.
authors.forename: Ourida
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Aissaoui
authors.affiliation: a Food Technology and Human Nutrition Laboratory , École Nationale Supérieure Agronomique (ENSA) , Algiers , Algeria.
authors.forename: Malek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Amiali
authors.affiliation: b Department of Anapathology , CHU Parnet , Algiers , Algeria.
authors.forename: Nora
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bouzid
authors.affiliation: c Department of Soil Sciences and Agri-Food Engineering , Université Laval , Quebec City , Quebec , Canada.
authors.forename: Khaled
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Belkacemi
authors.affiliation: a Food Technology and Human Nutrition Laboratory , École Nationale Supérieure Agronomique (ENSA) , Algiers , Algeria.
authors.forename: Arezki
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bitam
mesh_terms: D000496:Alloxan; D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D010179:Pancreas / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D053545:Spirulina
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D000496:Alloxan
keywords: Antioxidant effect; HOMA-IR; beta-cells; glycaemia; liver function; metformin; organ weight; phenolic compounds; phycobiliproteins; weight gain