Asiatic acid prevents lipid peroxidation and improves antioxidant status in rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes

Oxidative stress is a common pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus and asiatic acid (AA) plays an important role in ameliorating those difficulties. The present study was designed the protective effects of AA on altered lipid peroxidation products, enzymic and nonenzymic antioxidants in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced in experimental rats by single dose STZ (40 mg/kg b.w.) injection. Diabetic rats showed significantly increased levels of plasma glucose, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, lipid hydroperoxides, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, bilirubin, creatine kinase, urea, uric acid, creatinine and decreased levels of plasma insulin. The activities of enzymatic antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione-S-transferase and the levels of non-enzymatic antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E and reduced glutathione were decreased in diabetic rats. Oral treatment with AA (20 mg/kg b.w.) showed near normalized levels of plasma glucose, insulin, lipid peroxidation products, enzymatic and nonenzymatic markers in diabetic rats. The results demonstrate that AA possesses potent antioxidant effect comparable with glibenclamide in improving antihyperglycemia and attenuating antioxidant status in diabetic rats. (C) Published by Elsevier Ltd.