Ameliorative properties of Iranian Trigonella foenum-graecum L. seeds and Punica granatum L. peel extracts in streptozotocin-induced experimental diabetic guinea pigs

Nutraceutical activities of Trigonella foenum-graecum and Nigella sativa seeds in the management of diabetes-induced in albino rats

Diabetes causes elevated blood sugar levels, and it has been categorized as one of the most frequent causes of death worldwide. This work aimed to analyze and compare the nutraceutical and therapeutic efficacy of fenugreek seeds (FSs) (Trigonella foenum-graecum) and black cumin seeds (BCSs) (Nigella sativa) against streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus in albino rats. FS and BCSs were evaluated for proximate analysis, phytochemicals, and antioxidant activities. Male albino rats were used to evaluate the in vivo antidiabetic activities of these medicinal plants for 42 days. Blood samples were drawn at regular intervals of 1 week to analyze blood glucose, plasma insulin, and cholesterol levels and to determine the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA IR) index. At the end of the trial, pancreas tissue was also collected for histological examination. Results of the proximate analysis showed the significant presence of moisture, ash, fat, protein, and fiber. Antioxidant parameters like 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, total phenolic content, and total flavonoid content were found to be significant. There was a significant (p < 0.05) decrease in blood glucose level, serum cholesterol level, and insulin resistance in treatment groups T3-T5. Insulin and body weight results of treatment groups were significant (p < 0.05) compared to streptozotocin-intoxicated animals. Histological examination revealed the nutraceutical impact of selected herbal plants due to enhancing impact on the size and the number of β-cells in the pancreas. Findings of current research work explore the antidiabetic capacity of selected nutraceutical and medicinal plants.

Controlling diabetes with the aid of medicinal herbs: a critical compilation of a decade of research

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder owing to the insulin faulty production or the resistance to the action mechanism where the accumulation of glucose is the major side effect in the body in the case of diabetes. Numerous herbs with the potential of reducing glucose production along with combating the secondary ailments associated with it but >1% out of 250,000 have been pharmacologically validated. Affordability and historical usage of these herbal remedies often result in patients' preference as primary or as adjunctive to conventional therapies. Clinical trials conducted with herbs are necessary for determining the efficacy of the herbs against diabetes. Additional benefits of herbal employment include the treatment of secondary ailments in patients along with diabetes including triglyceride reduction, cholesterol level management, body mass index, and cardiovascular disease control. Any individual extract marketed as antidiabetic formulations requires clinical validation before adoption but with ongoing disease status, quick validation in protocols and testing is needed to understand, isolate and cross-verify the status of the bioactive ingredient in individual herb and the polyherb extract formulations. Standardization, characterization, long-term role and impact on the human body, efficacy status, and toxicity profile need to be addressed fully for each active ingredient before it is advanced for production. Therefore, after trials, the related regulatory bodies will be approached to confirm the safety status and efficacy of the prepared concoction.

Role and mechanism of fruit waste polyphenols in diabetes management

Among various diseases in humans, diabetes is one of the most complicated disorders resulting either from the malfunctioning of β cells, causing a poor discharge of insulin from them, or poor functioning of the liberated insulin. A wide array of chemical compounds so-called secondary metabolites are present in plants. These phytochemicals are produced as by-products of metabolism and play a key role in plant protection. However, in humans, they offer several beneficial functions. Polyphenols are an important class of phytochemicals and apart from fruits, they are also found in their major wastes mainly including the peel, pomace, and seed. The current review is aimed to focus on the potential sources, distribution, and extraction/isolation of polyphenols from major fruit wastes along with highlighting their medicinal and therapeutic benefits, especially in the management of diabetes.

Therapeutic Potential of Pomegranate in Metabolic Disorders

Metabolic syndrome and associated disorders have become one of the major challenging health problems over the last decades. Considerable attention has been paid to natural products and herbal medicines for the management of metabolic disorders in recent years. Many studies have investigated the therapeutic effects of different parts (arils, peels, seeds, and flowers) of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) for the prevention and treatment of this syndrome. This study aims to provide an updated review on the in vitro and in vivo studies as well as clinical trials investigating the effects of pomegranate and its active compounds on different components of metabolic problems such as hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, as well as obesity over the last two decades. Besides, the key mechanisms by which pomegranate affects these pathogenic conditions are also discussed. The studies show that although pomegranate has promising beneficial effects on diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and obesity in various cellular, animal, and clinical models of studies, there are some conflicting results, particularly for hyperglycemic conditions. The main mechanisms include influencing oxidative stress and anti-inflammatory responses. Overall, pomegranate seems to have positive effects on the pathogenic conditions of metabolic syndrome according to the reviewed studies. Although pomegranate is not suggested as the first line of therapy or monotherapy, it could be only used as an adjunctive therapy. Nevertheless, further large and long-term clinical studies are still required.

Ongoing and potential novel trends of pomegranate fruit peel; a comprehensive review of its health benefits and future perspectives as nutraceutical

Pomegranate is an ancient shrub, globally distributed nowadays. It has been used in the middle east as a medicinal food and traditional medicine for thousands of years. Pomegranate peel (PP) constitutes about 50% of the total fruit, however, it has been previously regarded as a waste. Recent research points to PP as a rich source of phenolics (e.g., ellagitannins, flavonoids, and anthocyanins), polysaccharides, in addition to its biotransformed metabolites viz. urolithins making it a valuable waste with promising pharmacological actions. Compared to the pulp and the juice, PP exhibited stronger antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Besides, it inhibited inflammation in several conditions, including colitis, arthritis, hepatitis, contact dermatitis, and lung inflammation. Moreover, it displayed anti-osteoporosis, anti-hyperglycemic, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, vasculoprotective, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective, and immunomodulatory effects. Additionally, it was effective as a prebiotic and in obesity control, besides it promoted wound healing. Furthermore, PP demonstrated anticancer effects against different cancer types, for example, colon, liver, thyroid, uterine, breast, bladder, prostate, leukemia, and osteosarcoma. Despite PP safety, it may interfere with the metabolism of other drugs because it inhibits cytochromes (CYP) changing their bioavailability, effectiveness, and toxicity. PP biowaste valorization not only avoids against its environmental and economic burden but can also provide a promising platform to produce novel or improved nutraceuticals. This study provides a comprehensive overview of PP biological activities with the reported action mechanisms related to its phytochemicals and further biotransformed metabolites inside the body. Future research prospects to unravel the merits of such waste and optimize its use are discussed. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Pomegranate is widely distributed throughout the world. Although its peel was previously considered a waste, recent research regards it as a rich source of bioactive compounds with promising biological activities. Its recycling not only overcomes the bio-waste problems, but also provides a source of valuable compounds with several health benefits. In recent years, PP has been demonstrated to exhibit excellent pharmacological bioactivities, for example, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiosteoporosis, antihyperlipidemic, and anticancer activities. Its health-promoting power is mostly attributed to the phenolic and polysaccharide content, in addition to its amazing biotransformed metabolites. The underlying action mechanisms of such pharmacological activities are discussed and related to its chemical content. This review presents the latest research progress on the role of PP in the prevention and treatment of various chronic diseases, and its protective health effects for future research to be used in nutraceuticals.

The effects and mechanisms of pomegranate in the prevention and treatment of metabolic syndrome

Metabolic syndrome, such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, is becoming epidemic both in developing and developed countries in recent years. Vegetable and fruit consumptions have been associated with the prevention of metabolic syndrome. Pomegranate is a widely consumed fruit in Middle East and Asia. Currently, accumulating data showed that pomegranate exhibits antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hypolipidemic and hypoglycemic activities in experimental and clinical studies. The beneficial effects of pomegranate may come from its rich polyphenols and be mediated by increasing the activity of AMPK, upregulating GLUT4, activating PPAR[Formula: see text]- ABCA1/CYP7A1 pathways and improving mitochondrial function. This review provides a systematical presentation of findings on the beneficial effects as well as the possible mechanisms of pomegranate and its major components on prevention and treatment of metabolic syndrome.

An overview on ethnobotanico-pharmacological studies carried out in Morocco, from 1991 to 2015: Systematic review (part 1)

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The full bibliometric records of data retrieved from ethnobotanical field studies carried out in Morocco (1991-2015) was quali-quantitatively analysed. Despite the importance of traditional medicinal uses in Morocco, any comments about the methodologies and approaches adopted by reviewed studies have been undertaken. Include more data about the importance of traditional medicinal uses in Morocco.

AIM OF THE STUDY

Three key points were targeted in this review: (i) to contribute to original compilation of medicinal plants traditionally used by people at whole Morocco, by gathering and documenting the current status of these ancestral medical practices, (ii) to provide a novel insight into the relationship between local and biomedical disease concepts in Moroccan society, taking into account health-related beliefs, and their influences on medicinal plant uses, (iii) to figurout the weaknesses and the strengths of the conceptual approches and methods adopted by researchers in ethnobotanical field works.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

With the help of a computerized database querying, we conducted an extensive literature search respecting our integration criteria. We performed this bibliographic research by using the following search engines available over the Web: Google Scholar, PUBMED, Sciencedirect, Current Content Connect, SCOPUS, SPRINGER LINK, GLOBAL PLANTS, Cochrane Library and SCIRUS. The scientific names listed in the present paper have been validated according to the "The Plant List" and the African Plants Database in order to standardize ethnobotanical data on an international level. For the analysis of data gathered, quali-quantitative analyses have been performed.

RESULTS

A total of 905 medicinal plant species belonging to 116 families and 726 genera have been selected from 63 published articles. The dominant families were ASTERACEAE (111 species) followed by the FABACEAE (77 species), LAMIACEAE (75 species) and APIACEAE (46 species). The plant species listed are used to cure several public ailments. The digestive ailments represented the most important category (494 species) followed by dermatological diseases (407 species), diabetes (315 species) and urinary diseases (277 species). We assigned the importance of the plant species by several measures (including Frequency Cited (FC), Number of Uses (NU), Number of Respondents (NR) and Index of Performance (IP). The ICF (Informant Consensus Factor) calculated was important in all categories of diseases averaging 47%.

CONCLUSION

The results obtained, which cover the whole country, delineate the profile of rich wealth of indigenous knowledge on traditional uses of medicinal plants heald by Moroccan society. The total number of 905 plant species listed in this paper, are currently being utilized as medicines and the number is expected to grow as infrastructure allows greater access to unexplored parts of the country. Furthermore, the know how, regarding the plants used, is consistent because the ICF has recorded important values for most diseases treated. Furthermore, in the present paper, we suggested, for authors, some useful recommendations for ethnobotanical field works such as the respect of ethnobotanical standards including checklist of plants with international data base, the deposited voucher specimens, sampling and collection methods.

The effects of pomegranate peel extract on the gene expressions of antioxidant enzymes in a rat model of alloxan-induced diabetes

This study was conducted to evaluate the anti-diabetic and antioxidant effects of hydroalcoholic pomegranate peel extract (APE) in alloxan-induced diabetes rat models. We divided 60 rats into the following six equal groups (n = 10): Healthy control; diabetic control (100 mg/kg alloxan); sham + glibenclamide (10 mg/kg); diabetic + glibenclamide (10 mg/kg); sham + APE (200 mg/kg) and diabetic + APE (200 mg/kg). After 8 weeks, kidneys were taken out for biochemical and molecular studies. Following APE treatment, biochemical parameters including malondialdehyde (MDA), and glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) significantly induced in the treated group as compared with the control group (p < 0.05). Also, gene expression of GPx (3-fold), CAT (2.6-fold), and SOD (1.5-fold) were increased as compared to controls (p < 0.05). Overall, our results indicated that pomegranate can be used as an antioxidant agent to reduce complications from diseases associated with oxidative stress.

Middle East Medicinal Plants in the Treatment of Diabetes: A Review

Diabetes is a global health problem, and the number of diabetic patients is in continuous rise. Conventional antidiabetic therapies are associated with high costs and limited efficiency. The use of traditional medicine and plant extracts to treat diabetes is gaining high popularity in many countries. Countries in the Middle East region have a long history of using herbal medicine to treat different diseases, including diabetes. In this review, we compiled and summarized all the in vivo and in vitro studies conducted for plants with potential antidiabetic activity in the Middle East region. Plants of the Asteraceae and Lamiaceae families are the most investigated. It is hoped that this review will contribute scientifically to evidence the ethnobotanical use of medicinal plants as antidiabetic agents. Work has to be done to define tagetes, mechanism of action and the compound responsible for activity. In addition, safety and pharmacokinetic parameters should be investigated.

Recent Therapeutic Interventions of Fenugreek Seed: A Mechanistic Approach

Fenugreek seeds have widespread relations with Ayurveda, Unani, and Arabic medicine. The seeds were useful for the treatment and prevention of different ailments. Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) or methi is from the Leguminosae family and are primarily known for its anti-diabetic and hypocholesterolemic activities. The germinated fenugreek seeds were used in the treatment of E.coli infection in Germany and France. The important phytoconstituents responsible for such medicinal applications are saponins, polyunsaturated fatty acids, galactomannans, trigonelline, and 4-hydroxy isoleucine. Flavonoids, apigenin 6,8-di-C-glucoside, apigenin-6-C-glucosyl-8-C-galactoside, 6-Cgalactosyl- 8-C-arabinoside are the chief ingredients of fenugreek seeds; responsible for reducing blood glucose while given to diabetic rats, whereas important flavones are epigenin, luteolin and vitexin. The other major bioactive components in fenugreek seeds are polyphenols like rhaponticin and isovitexin. Fenugreek seeds contain phosphorus and are categorized into different classes such as inorganic phosphorus, phospholipids, phytates, phosphor-proteins, and nucleic acid. Germinated seeds profusely filled with amino acids with amino acids, proteins, ascorbic acid, sugars. Further, this review shares information about the recent therapeutic intervention not covered earlier; on in vivo and in vitro and some clinical applications against certain interesting ailments other than older applications. This review includes certain nano delivery systems of Fenugreek seeds and their medicinal application.

Thymus vulgaris extract modulates dexamethasone induced liver injury and restores the hepatic antioxidant redox system

Background

The liver is the largest important organ and the site for essential biochemical reactions and detoxifying toxic substances in the human body. Long-term, high-dose dexamethasone administration can cause severe alterations in liver function. Therefore,Thymus vulgarisleave extract possess a modulatory role on dexamethasone-induced hepatotoxicity by attenuating antioxidant defense system.

By subcutaneous route, animals will receive three doses per week for 8 weeks of dexamethasone (0.1 mg/kg. b. wt.) concomitant with oral administration of thyme aqueous extract (500 mg/kg b.wt.).

Results

DXM treatment led to a marked increase in the liver function enzyme activities that are successfully ameliorated by thyme aqueous extract. Thyme natural antioxidants augmented the antioxidant defense system that overcomes oxidative stress caused by dexamethasone. Conversely, although dexamethasone-treated animals rose lipid peroxidation, thyme extract pretreatment did the reverse.

Conclusion

Hepatotoxicity and oxidative stress caused by dexamethasone might improve by thyme natural antioxidants.

Grape Seed Extract Alleviates Dexamethasone-Induced Hyperlipidemia, Lipid Peroxidation, and Hematological Alteration in Rats

The ameliorative effects of dietary natural compounds have drawn increasing attention. Dietary antioxidant is considered a common practice adopted in traditional and alternative medicine. The current study was considered to assess the ameliorative effect of grape seed extract on dexamethasone-induced hepatotoxicity in rats. Rats were injected with dexamethasone, (0.1 mg/kg; i.m.), three times per week, for 30 days. The other groups; dexamethasone (0.1 mg/kg) and grape seed extract at a dose of 200 and 400 mg/kg were given orally to rats, respectively. Dexamethasone treatment resulted in a significant elevation in liver function markers activities, lipid profile, and hematological alterations; also, a remarkable increase in hepatic lipid peroxidation marker whereas decreased antioxidant activities in rats. However, administration of grape seed extract resulted in a reversal of dexamethasone-induced lipid peroxidation, antioxidant enzyme activities, liver function markers and lipid profile, and hematological alterations. Moreover, grape seed extract demonstrated preventive action against dexamethasone-induced histopathological changes in rat liver tissues. In conclusion, grape seed extract exhibited a protective effect in rats against oxidative stress, hyperlipidemia and hematological alterations induced by dexamethasone.

An update on natural compounds in the remedy of diabetes mellitus: A systematic review

Herbal medicine, phytomedicine or botanical medicine are synonymous, utilizes plants intended for medicinal purposes. Medicinal use of herbal medicine in the treatment and prevention of diseases including diabetes has a long history compared to conventional medicine. Diabetes is one of the major public health concerns over the world. Diabetes or hyperglycemia is considered to be one of the common public health hazard; optimal control of which is still not possible. Persistent hyperglycemia or uncontrolled diabetes has the potential to cause serious complications such as kidney disease, vision loss, cardiovascular disease, and lower-limb amputations which contributed towards morbidity and mortality in diabetes. There are various approaches to treat and prevent diabetes as well as its secondary complications, one of it is herbal medicines. However, the selection of herbs might depends on several factors, which include the stage of progression of diabetes, types of comorbidities that the patients are having, availability, affordability as well as the safety profile of the herbs. This review focuses on the herbal and natural remedies that play the role in the treatment or prevention of this morbid disorder - diabetes, including their underlying mechanisms for the blood glucose-lowering property and the herbal products already been marketed for the remedial action of diabetes.

Vitis vinifera Extract Ameliorate Hepatic and Renal Dysfunction Induced by Dexamethasone in Albino Rats

This study was conducted to evaluate the biochemical effects of grape seed extract against dexamethasone-induced hepatic and renal dysfunction in a female albino rat. Twenty-eight adult female rats were divided randomly into four equal groups: Group 1: animals were injected subcutaneously with saline and consider as normal control one. Group 2: animals were injected subcutaneously with dexamethasone in a dose of 0.1 mg/kg body weight. Group 3: animals were injected subcutaneously with 0.1 mg/kg body weight of dexamethasone, and then treated with a grape seed extract in a dose of 200 mg/kg body weight by oral gavage. Group 4: animals were injected subcutaneously with 0.1 mg/kg body weight of dexamethasone, and then treated with a grape seed extract in a dose of 400 mg/kg body weight by oral gavage. After 4 weeks, serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities, albumin, uric acid, creatinine, and glucose levels were assayed. Hepatic reduced glutathione (GSH), total protein content, and catalase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activities were also assayed. Dexamethasone administration caused elevation of serum levels of glucose, uric acid, creatinine, ALT, AST activities, and a decrease in other parameters such as hepatic glutathione, total protein levels, and catalase enzyme activity. Treatment with Vitis vinifera L. seed extract showed a significant increase in the body weight of rats in the group treated with Vitis vinifera L. seed extract orally compared with the dexamethasone control group. An increase in GSH and catalase activity in response to oral treatment with Vitis vinifera L. seed extract was observed after treatment. Grape seed extract positively affects glucocorticoid-induced hepatic and renal alteration in albino rats.