Regulation of cardiac oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats treated with aqueous extract of Pimpinella tirupatiensis tuberous root

Plants with antidiabetic activities provide important source for the development of new drugs in the management of diabetes mellitus. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the protective effect of aqueous extract (AE) of Pimpinella tirupatiensis (Pt) tuberous root on cardiac oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation (LPO) in non-diabetic and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced in male Wistar rats by a single administration of STZ (40 mg/kg intraperitoneal (i.p). AE (750 mg/kg/b.w./day) and glibenclamide (GLB) (20 mg/kg/b.w./day) were administrated orally by intra oral gastric tube for 30 days. After 4 weeks of hyperglycaemia the enzymatic and non-enzymatic factors were measured in cardiac tissue of diabetic and control groups. Xanthine oxidase activity (XOD), Uric acid (UA) and malondialdehyde (MDA) content were significantly (p < 0.01) elevated by 48, 48 and 50% respectively and the contents of glutathione (GSH), ascorbic acid (AA) were significantly (p < 0.01) diminished by 45 and 42% respectively in diabetic rats when compared to normal. Treatment with AE and GLB normalized the content of UA, GSH, AA, MDA and the activity of XOD. No significant changes were observed in control rats treated with AE. This data suggests that hyperglycemia induces oxidative stress in the heart, but the oxidative stress defense mechanisms in the heart tissue are fairly efficacious against oxidative injury by the treatment with AE and GLB. The present study reveals that AE may provide a useful therapeutic option in the reversal of oxidative stress induced cardiac dysfunction in diabetes mellitus.