Gedunin attenuates streptozotocin-induced diabetic hepatopathy in rats

Abstract

Objective: To examine the hepatoprotective effects of gedunin in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Methods: Rats were divided into 4 groups: control, STZ, gedunin, and STZ+gedunin. Biochemical parameters for liver function and liver histology were studied. The molecular interaction of gedunin with the liver glucose transporters GLUT2 and SGLT1 was examined using AutoDock Vina. Results: Gedunin attenuated STZ-induced increase in the levels of aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase and gamma-glutamyl transferase in the serum and liver tissue, reduced lipid peroxidation, and enhanced antioxidant activity. Histopathological studies showed considerable restoration of liver architecture in gedunin-treated diabetic rats. In silico studies revealed stable binding of gedunin with GLUT2 and SGLT1. Conclusions: Gedunin exerts hepatoprotective effects in STZ-induced diabetic rats by reducing liver enzymatic activities and oxidative stress. Further studies are warranted to verify the mechanism of its hepatoprotective action.

Keywords

Gedunin / GLUT2 / SGLT1 / Diabetic hepatopathy / Docking / Histology / Homology modelling

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Funding

The study received no extramural funding.

Data availability statement

The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors upon request.

Authors’ contributions

TMM was involved in conception and design of the study, experimentation, data analysis and interpretation and critical review of the manuscript. JMP contributed to study design, experimentation, data analysis and interpretation, writing and review of the manuscript. SM performed the docking studies and the in vivo experiments, data analysis and interpretation, wrote the computional study sections of the manuscript and involved in writing other sections. All authors reviewed and approved the manuscript

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