Antihyperlipidemic and cardiopreventive properties of Arabic gum in nicotinamide/streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Abstract

Background/Aim Diabetes mellitus (DM) and its complications have a negative impact on human health and the economy worldwide. Diabetic patients are at a high risk of dying from cardiovascular diseases. Arabic gum (AG) is a natural product that exhibits potent anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and hypoglycemic properties. The purpose of this study was to scrutinize the antihyperlipidemic and cardiopreventive efficacy and to assess the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory roles of AG in nicotinamide (NA)/streptozotocin (STZ)-induced DM in rats. Material and methods Three groups of 18 adult (6 each) male Wistar rats each were used for the experiment. The first group was the normal control group, which received 0.9% NaCl daily by oral gavage for 8 weeks. The rats in the second group were injected with 60 mg/kg b.w. STZ in citrate buffer (pH 4.5) intraperitoneally (IP), after being given intraperitoneally 120 mg/kg b.w. NA. They also received 0.9% NaCl daily by oral gavage for 8 weeks. The third group was treated with 20 mg AG/kg b.w./day suspended in 0.9% NaCl by oral gavage for 8 weeks after inducing DM in the same way as the second group. Results Hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia were observed in DM rats. They also had significantly higher levels (P<0.05) of serum creatine kinase (CK), creatine kinase myocardial band (CK-MB), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), which indicate heart dysfunction. The diabetic heart suffered from oxidative stress, as shown by significant increases (P<0.05) of malondialdehyde (MDA) and decreased glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and superoxide dismutase values (SOD). AG treatment improved blood glucose and serum lipid levels, as well as heart function biomarkers in serum. AG also reduced oxidative stress and enhanced antioxidant defenses in the diabetic heart. Immune-inflammatory markers, such as nuclear factor-kappa B and tumor necrosis factor-α and apoptotic protein p53 expressions were elevated in diabetic rats (P<0.05) markedly, but the treatment with AG exhibited normal levels for them. Conclusion In conclusion, this study demonstrated that AG has a preventive role against heart injury in NA/STZ-induced DM in rats. AG improved the metabolic, oxidative, and inflammatory status as well as apoptosis and their cardiac function in diabetic rats. Moreover, AG improved the histological picture of cardiac myocytes and therefore, it may be a potential natural remedy for diabetic cardiomyopathy.