Do Bioactive Food Compound with Avena sativa L., Linum usitatissimum L. and Glycine max L. Supplementation with Moringa oleifera Lam. Have a Role against Nutritional Disorders? An Overview of the In Vitro and In Vivo Evidence

Functional clinical nutrition is an integrative science; it uses dietary strategies, functional foods and medicinal plants, as well as combinations thereof. Both functional foods and medicinal plants, whether associated or not, form nutraceuticals, which can bring benefits to health, in addition to being included in the prevention and treatment of diseases. Some functional food effects from Avena sativa L. (oats), Linum usitatissimum L. (brown flaxseed), Glycine max L. (soya) and Moringa oleifera have been proposed for nutritional disorders through in vitro and in vivo tests. A formulation called a bioactive food compound (BFC) showed efficiency in the association of oats, flaxseed and soy for dyslipidemia and obesity. In this review, we discuss the effects of BFC in other nutritional disorders, as well as the beneficial effects of M. oleifera in obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus type 2, metabolic syndrome, intestinal inflammatory diseases/colorectal carcinogenesis and malnutrition. In addition, we hypothesized that a BFC enriched with M. oleifera could present a synergistic effect and play a potential benefit in nutritional disorders. The traditional consumption of M. oleifera preparations can allow associations with other formulations, such as BFC. These nutraceutical formulations can be easily accepted and can be used in sweet preparations (fruit and/or vegetable juices, fruit and/or vegetable vitamins, porridges, yogurt, cream, mousses or fruit salads, cakes and cookies) or savory (vegetable purees, soups, broths and various sauces), cooked or not. These formulations can be low-cost and easy-to-use. The association of bioactive food substances in dietary formulations can facilitate adherence to consumption and, thus, contribute to the planning of future nutritional interventions for the prevention and adjuvant treatment of the clinical conditions presented in this study. This can be extended to the general population. However, an investigation through clinical studies is needed to prove applicability in humans.

Flaxseed Lignans and Polyphenols Enhanced Activity in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

Simple Summary

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic condition that affects millions of people globally. The present study highlights the enhanced activity of flaxseed lignans and polyphenols isolated from Linum usitatissimum in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Treatment with flaxseed extract showed enhanced glycosylated hemoglobin and blood glucose levels and reduced plasma cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and triglycerides, urea and uric acid intensities, and plasma creatinine in the treated diabetic experimental animals, indicating beneficial effects—results sustained by histopathological observations of liver, pancreas, kidney, and spleen. Translation of this nutraceutical-based approach still requires further elucidation of its mechanism of action toward clinical applications.

Abstract

Flaxseeds play an important role in human health due to their chemical composition and recognized beneficial outcomes. This study investigated the antidiabetic effects of present lignans and polyphenols found in the flaxseed extract on streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. The flaxseed administration produced favorable changes in body weight, food and water intake, and glycosylated hemoglobin and blood glucose quantities in the treated diabetic rats. Additionally, significant positive results were observed in the biochemical parameters, namely reduced plasma cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, plasma creatinine, and urea and uric acid levels, highlighting the seeds’ use in traditional medicine. The results were sustained by histopathological observations that showed better tissue preservation following the flaxseed diet. Overall, the consumption of flaxseeds produced moderate reduction in glucose levels and hyperlipidemia, together with improvement in the impaired organs’ function in diabetic rats. The daily administration of polyphenols and lignans compounds could impact therapeutic potential in diabetes management.

Calcium Dobesilate Restores Autophagy by Inhibiting the VEGF/PI3K/AKT/mTOR Signaling Pathway

Objective: Calcium dobesilate (CaD), an effective drug for the treatment of diabetic microvascular complications, especially diabetic retinopathy, is widely used in the clinic. Interestingly, several studies have indicated that CaD is therapeutic for diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Recently, evidence has indicated that altered vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression and decreased autophagy are the main pathological mechanisms of proteinuria. Thus, this study was conducted to explore the effect of CaD on restoring autophagy in DKD and the possible signaling pathway between VEGF and autophagy. Methods: Obese mice with spontaneous diabetes (KK-Ay) and high-fat diet- and streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice (HFD/STZ) were used in this study. Biochemical staining, western blotting, and immunohistochemistry were conducted to determine the angioprotective effect of CaD and the underlying mechanism between autophagy and VEGF/VEGFR. Results: Our results showed that CaD was capable of reducing albuminuria and restoring renal histological changes in KK-Ay and HFD/STZ-induced diabetic mice. CaD restored autophagy by decreasing the protein expression of LC3 II, Atg5, and beclin 1 and increasing the expression of P62. Moreover, CaD reduced the activation of the autophagy-related PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway possibly via decreasing VEGF and downregulating VEGF receptor 2. Conclusion: Overall, CaD, as a novel potential therapeutic drug for DKD, plays a key role in protecting renal function and restoring autophagy by blocking VEGF/VEGFR2 and inhibiting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.

Effect of Glycosin alkaloid from Rhizophora apiculata in non-insulin dependent diabetic rats and its mechanism of action: In vivo and in silico studies

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Diabetes mellitus is a complex multifactorial disorder that remains a great challenging task in the clinical practice. Rhizophora apiculata from Indian medicinal mangrove is widely used to treat inflammation, wound healing and diabetes. Bioassay guided fractionation was followed to isolate Glycosin from the ethanolic extract of R. apiculata. The antidiabetic effect of Glycosin in diabetic rats was investigated and determined their possible mechanism of action.

METHODS

Diabetes was induced in adult Wistar rats by a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin and nicotinamide. Based on the oral glucose tolerance test, Glycosin (50mg/kg b.wt.) was orally administrated to diabetic rats for a period of 45 days. In different intervals, blood glucose and body weight were recorded. After 45 days, blood samples were collected to determine serum lipid profile, level of plasma insulin, hemoglobin, liver, and kidney functions using the appropriate tests. In addition the levels of carbohydrate metabolic enzymes in the liver homogenate were also measured. To determine the molecular mechanism of action, we followed the molecular docking of Glycosin in its possible targets, dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV), Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), phosphorylated insulin receptor, and protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP-1B).

RESULTS

Glycosin treatment significantly (p<0.01) reduced the blood-glucose level, increased the body weight, increase hemoglobin, high-density lipoprotein and insulin level, protein, in addition the activity of hexokinase when compared to untreated rats. Decreased activities of liver function enzymes as well as level of urea, and creatinine were observed in Glycosin treated rats. Docking simulation confirmed that Glycosin interacted with DPP-IV, Insulin receptor and PTP-1B and PPARγ with more affinity and binding energy.

CONCLUSION

Glycosin acts as antihyperglycemic agent, associated with antihyperlipidemic and possibility function as a ligand for proteins that are targets for antidiabetes drugs.

Flaxseed Protects Against Diabetes-Induced Glucotoxicity by Modulating Pentose Phosphate Pathway and Glutathione-Dependent Enzyme Activities in Rats

This study investigated the effects of flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) intake on general metabolism, pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) and glutathione-dependent enzymes in diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced by streptozotocin injection (40 mg/kg, i.p.) and the enzyme activities were determined spectrophotometrically. Diabetic and control rats were divided in two subgroups, one untreated, and one treated with flaxseed (0.714 g/kg body weight/day; orally) for 12 weeks. Flaxseed ameliorated decreased body weight (p < .05) and increased blood glucose (p < .001), triglyceride (p < .001), ALT (p < .001) and AST (p < .001) in diabetic rats. Diabetes resulted in increased glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) (p < .05) and decreased glutathione-S-transferase (GST) (p < .01), but unchanged 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGD) and glutathione reductase (GR) in the brain of rats. These alterations were partially improved by flaxseed in comparison to diabetic untreated group (p < .05). G6PD, 6PGD, GR were elevated (p < .001), while GST unchanged in the lung of diabetic untreated group compared to control. Flaxseed partially prevented the increase in 6PGD (p < .05) and GR (p < .01), but unaffected G6PD in the lung of diabetic rats. G6PD (p < .001), 6PGD (p < .05), GR (p < .001) were augmented, while GST showed a significant (p < .001) depletion in the pancreas of diabetic untreated rats compared to control. Diabetic alterations observed in pancreatic enzyme activities were significantly prevented by flaxseed. Furthermore, a remarkable decrease in 6PGD (p < .001) and an increase in G6PD (threefold of control) were found in the lens of diabetic untreated group that were completely prevented by flaxseed (p < .001). Flaxseed has beneficial effects against diabetes-induced glucotoxicity by modulating G6PD, 6PGD, GR and GST activities in tissues.

Interactions between herbs and antidiabetics: an overview of the mechanisms, evidence, importance, and management

Complementary and alternative therapies are quickly gaining importance because they are perceived to be free of side effects due to their natural origin. However, herbal remedies are complex mixtures of bioactive entities, which may interact with prescription drugs through pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic mechanisms and sometimes result in life-threatening consequences. In particular, diabetes patients are often treated with multiple medications due to different comorbidities, and such patients use antidiabetic medications for their entire lives; thus, it is important to make the public aware of herb interactions with antidiabetic drugs. In this paper, we summarize the reports available on the interaction of herbal remedies with oral hypoglycemic agents and describe mechanisms, preclinical or clinical evidence, importance, and management strategies.