Improvement of Insulin Secretion and Pancreatic β-cell Function in Streptozotocin-induced Diabetic Rats Treated with  Aloe vera  Extract

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Abstract

Background:

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by chronic hyperglycemia. Plant extracts and their products are being used as an alternative system of medicine for the treatment of diabetes. Aloe vera has been traditionally used to treat several diseases and it exhibits antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and wound-healing effects. Streptozotocin (STZ)-induced Wistar diabetic rats were used in this study to understand the potential protective effect of A. vera extract on the pancreatic islets.

Objective:

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the A. vera extract on improvement of insulin secretion and pancreatic β-cell function by morphometric analysis of pancreatic islets in STZ-induced diabetic Wistar rats.

Materials and Methods:

After acclimatization, male Wistar rats, maintained as per the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals guidelines, were randomly divided into four groups of six rats each. Fasting plasma glucose and insulin levels were assessed. The effect of A. vera extract in STZ-induced diabetic rats on the pancreatic islets by morphometric analysis was evaluated.

Results:

Oral administration of A. vera extract (300 mg/kg) daily to diabetic rats for 3 weeks showed restoration of blood glucose levels to normal levels with a concomitant increase in insulin levels upon feeding with A. vera extract in STZ-induced diabetic rats. Morphometric analysis of pancreatic sections revealed quantitative and qualitative gain in terms of number, diameter, volume, and area of the pancreatic islets of diabetic rats treated with A. vera extract when compared to the untreated diabetic rats.

Conclusion:

A. vera extract exerts antidiabetic effects by improving insulin secretion and pancreatic β-cell function by restoring pancreatic islet mass in STZ-induced diabetic Wistar rats.

SUMMARY

Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and insulin levels were restored to normal levels in diabetic rats treated with Aloe vera extract
Islets of pancreas were qualitatively and quantitatively restored to normalcy leading to restoration of FPG and insulin levels of diabetic rats treated with Aloe vera extract
Morphometric analysis of pancreatic sections revealed quantitative and qualitative gain in terms of number, diameter, volume, and area of the pancreatic islets of diabetic rats treated with Aloe vera extract when compared to the untreated diabetic rats.

Abbreviations Used: A. vera, FPG: Fasting plasma glucose, STZ: Streptozotocin, BW: Body weight

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Most cited references 30

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Systematic review of herbs and dietary supplements for glycemic control in diabetes.

Ian Phillips, Gloria Yeh, D Eisenberg … (2003)

To conduct a systematic review of the published literature on the efficacy and safety of herbal therapies and vitamin/mineral supplements for glucose control in patients with diabetes. We conducted an electronic literature search of MEDLINE, OLDMEDLINE, Cochrane Library Database, and HealthSTAR, from database inception to May 2002, in addition to performing hand searches and consulting with experts in the field. Available clinical studies published in the English language that used human participants and examined glycemic control were included. Data were extracted in a standardized manner, and two independent investigators assessed methodological quality of randomized controlled trials using the Jadad scale. A total of 108 trials examining 36 herbs (single or in combination) and 9 vitamin/mineral supplements, involving 4,565 patients with diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance, met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. There were 58 controlled clinical trials involving individuals with diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance (42 randomized and 16 nonrandomized trials). Most studies involved patients with type 2 diabetes. Heterogeneity and the small number of studies per supplement precluded formal meta-analyses. Of these 58 trials, the direction of the evidence for improved glucose control was positive in 76% (44 of 58). Very few adverse effects were reported. There is still insufficient evidence to draw definitive conclusions about the efficacy of individual herbs and supplements for diabetes; however, they appear to be generally safe. The available data suggest that several supplements may warrant further study. The best evidence for efficacy from adequately designed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is available for Coccinia indica and American ginseng. Chromium has been the most widely studied supplement. Other supplements with positive preliminary results include Gymnema sylvestre, Aloe vera, vanadium, Momordica charantia, and nopal.

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Anti-inflammatory effects of aloe vera gel in human colorectal mucosa in vitro.

L. Langmead, R. J. Makins, D. S. Rampton (2004)

Oral aloe vera gel is widely used by patients with inflammatory bowel disease and is under therapeutic evaluation for this condition. To assess the effects of aloe vera in vitro on the production of reactive oxygen metabolites, eicosanoids and interleukin-8, all of which may be pathogenic in inflammatory bowel disease. The anti-oxidant activity of aloe vera was assessed in two cell-free, radical-generating systems and by the chemiluminescence of incubated colorectal mucosal biopsies. Eicosanoid production by biopsies and interleukin-8 release by CaCo2 epithelial cells in the presence of aloe vera were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Aloe vera gel had a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on reactive oxygen metabolite production; 50% inhibition occurred at 1 in 1000 dilution in the phycoerythrin assay and at 1 in 10-50 dilution with biopsies. Aloe vera inhibited the production of prostaglandin E2 by 30% at 1 in 50 dilution (P = 0.03), but had no effect on thromboxane B2 production. The release of interleukin-8 by CaCo2 cells fell by 20% (P < 0.05) with aloe vera diluted at 1 in 100, but not at 1 in 10 or 1 in 1000 dilutions. The anti-inflammatory actions of aloe vera gel in vitro provide support for the proposal that it may have a therapeutic effect in inflammatory bowel disease.

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Duct- to islet-cell differentiation and islet growth in the pancreas of duct-ligated adult rats.

Y Wang, L Bouwens, G Kloppel (1995)

We investigated the growth of islet beta and alpha cells in adult rats which had undergone partial pancreatic duct ligation. Whereas the non-ligated head portion of the pancreas remained unaffected in terms of histology and cell population dynamics, the ligated tail part of the pancreas showed pronounced changes in histology and cell growth. These changes included replacement of exocrine acini by ductal complexes and significant growth of islet cells. Using immunocytochemistry and morphometry, we found that the beta-cell population had nearly doubled within 1 week and that a smaller, but also significant growth of the alpha-cell population had occurred. In addition, small islets and islet-cell clusters were more numerous in the pancreatic tail, indicating islet neogenesis. The bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) pulse labelling index of beta and alpha cells increased five fold and threefold, respectively, in the tail. However, the observed beta-cell labelling index remained below 1% which was largely insufficient to explain the increased number of beta cells. This indicates that recruitment from a proliferating stem-cell compartment was the main source for the beta-cell hyperplasia. A tenfold-elevated BrdU labelling index (18%) was observed in the duct-cell compartment which was identified by specific immunostaining for cytokeratin 20. Transitional cytodifferentiation forms between duct cells expressing cytokeratin 20 and beta cells expressing insulin, or alpha cells expressing glucagon, were demonstrated by double immunostaining. Pancreatic duct ligation also induced the expression of the beta-cell-specific glucose transporter type 2 (GLUT-2) in duct cells, indicating their metaplastic state. We concluded that in this adult rat model, the proliferation and differentiation of exocrine duct cells represents the major mechanism of endocrine beta-cell neogenesis. Our study thus demonstrates that in normal adult rats islet-cell neogenesis can be reactivated by stimulation of pancreatic duct cells.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Pharmacognosy Res

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Pharmacognosy Res

Journal ID (publisher-id): PR

Title: Pharmacognosy Research

Publisher: Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd (India )

ISSN (Print): 0976-4836

ISSN (Electronic): 0974-8490

Publication date (Print): December 2017

Volume: 9

Issue: Suppl 1

Pages: S99-S104

Affiliations

[1]Centre for Bio Separation Technology, VIT University, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India

[1 ]Department of Physiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India

[2 ]Department of Integrative Biology, School of Bio Sciences and Technology, VIT University, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India

Author notes

Correspondence: Dr. Ayesha Noor, Centre for Bio Separation Technology, VIT University, Vellore - 632 014, Tamil Nadu, India. E-mail: ayeshanoor17@ 123456yahoo.co.in

Article

Publisher ID: PR-9-99

DOI: 10.4103/pr.pr_75_17

PMC ID: 5757335

PubMed ID: 29333050

SO-VID: 82be1ff3-2a5b-4b4d-9f0b-1ce8ad735921

License:

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as the author is credited and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.

Improvement of Insulin Secretion and Pancreatic β-cell Function in Streptozotocin-induced Diabetic Rats Treated with Aloe vera Extract

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Abstract

Background:

Objective:

Materials and Methods:

Results:

Conclusion:

SUMMARY

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GLUT4 biology

Most cited references 30

Systematic review of herbs and dietary supplements for glycemic control in diabetes.

Anti-inflammatory effects of aloe vera gel in human colorectal mucosa in vitro.

Duct- to islet-cell differentiation and islet growth in the pancreas of duct-ligated adult rats.

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