Effect of an aqueous extract of Cucurbita ficifolia Bouché on the glutathione redox cycle in mice with STZ-induced diabetes

Ethnopharmacological importance

Cucurbita ficifolia is used in Mexican traditional medicine as an anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory agent and its actions can be mediated by antioxidant mechanisms. Disturbance in the homeostasis of glutathione has been implicated in the etiology and progression of diabetes mellitus and its complications.

Material and methods

It was evaluated, the effect of an aqueous extract of Cucurbita ficifolia on glycemia, plasma lipid peroxidation; as well as levels of reduced (GSH) and oxidized (GSSG) glutathione and activities of enzymes involved in glutathione redox cycle: glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GR) in liver, pancreas, kidney and heart homogenates of streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice.

Results

Increased blood glucose and lipid peroxidation, together with decreased of GSH concentration, GSH/GSSG ratio and its redox potential (E_h), and enhanced activity of GPx and GR in liver, pancreas and kidney were the salient features observed in diabetic mice. Administration of the aqueous extract of Cucurbita ficifolia to diabetic mice for 30 days, used at a dose of 200 mg/kg, resulted in a significant reduction in glycemia, polydipsia, hyperphagia and plasma lipid peroxidation. Moreover, GSH was increased in liver, pancreas and kidney, and GSSG was reduced in liver, pancreas and heart, therefore GSH/GSSG ratio and its E_h were restored. Also, the activities involved in the glutathione cycle were decreased, reaching similar values to controls.

Conclusions

An aqueous extract of Cucurbita ficifolia with hypoglycemic action, improve GSH redox state, increasing glutathione pool, GSH, GSH/GSSG ratio and its E_h, mechanism that can explain, at least in part, its antioxidant properties, supporting its use as an alternative treatment for the control of diabetes mellitus, and prevent the induction of complications by oxidative stress.