Antidiabetic and antioxidant effects of oleanolic acid from Ligustrum lucidum Ait in alloxan‐induced diabetic rats

The present study evaluated the antidiabetic and antioxidant effects of oleanolic acid (OA) from Ligustrum lucidum Ait (LLA) in alloxan‐induced diabetic rats. OA in the alloxan‐induced diabetic rats showed significant hypoglycemic activity by lowering blood glucose (at doses of 60 and 100 mg/kg for 40 days). The levels of serum total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG) and low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐c) in the OA‐treated diabetic rats were lower, and the high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐c) level was higher than in the control diabetic rats. A significant reduction in the serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels of diabetic rats following OA treatment was also observed. Furthermore, OA treatment decreased the malondialdehyde (MDA) level, but increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH‐px) activities of the liver and kidney in diabetic rats. These results indicate that OA could protect the liver function avoiding alloxan‐induced damage; OA had hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic and antioxidant efficacy in the diabetic rats. The antioxidant ability of OA might be one of the mechanisms of its hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.