Anti-diabetic effects of the acetone fraction of Senna singueana stem bark in a type 2 diabetes rat model

Abstract

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Senna singueana is currently used in the traditional treatment of diabetes mellitus in Nigeria. The present study examined the anti-diabetic activity of the Senna singueana acetone fraction (SSAF) of stem bark in a type 2 diabetes (T2D) rat model.

Materials and methods: Crude ethyl acetate extract of the Senna singueana stem bark was fractionated with various solvents and the acetone fraction was selected for in vivo studies based on the high α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitory activities. In the in vivo study, male Sprague-Dawley rats were induced with T2D and treated with the SSAF at 150 and 300 mg/kg body weight. Several T2D-related parameters were measured in the study.

Results: After 4 weeks of intervention, non-fasting blood glucose concentrations were significantly decreased and the glucose tolerance ability was significantly improved in the SSAF treated groups compared to the diabetic control group. Serum insulin concentrations, pancreatic β-cell function (HOMA-β) and liver glycogen were significantly (P<0.05) increased while serum alanine transaminase, alkaline phosphatase and urea were significantly decreased in the SSAF treated diabetic rats compared to the diabetic control group. Though insignificantly (P>0.05), other T2D-induced abnormalities such as food and fluid intake, body weight, serum lipids, serum fructosamine level and peripheral insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were also partially ameliorated by the SSAF treatment.

Conclusion: Data of this study suggest that orally administered SSAF could ameliorate most of the T2D-induced abnormalities in a T2D model of rats.

Keywords: Absolute ethanol (CID 702); Dinitrosalicylic acid (DNS) (CID 11873); Ethyl acetate (CID 8857); Hydrogen peroxide (CID 784); Maltose (CID 6255); Rats; Senna singueana; Starch (CID 439341); Streptozotocin (CID 29327); Type 2 diabetes; p-Nitrophenol (CID 980); p-Nitrophenyl-α-d-glucopyranoside (pNPG) (CID 11197369); α-Amylase; α-Amylase (E.C. 3.2.1.1); α-Glucosidase; α-Glucosidase (E.C. 3.2.1.20).