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Prolonged exposure to high energy diets has been implicated in the development of pre-diabetes, a long-lasting condition that precedes type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A combination of pharmacological treatment and dietary interventions are recommended to prevent the progression of pre-diabetes to T2DM. However, poor patient compliance leads to negligence of the dietary intervention and thus reduced drug efficiency. Momordica balsamina (MB) has been reported to possess anti-diabetic effects in type 1 diabetic rats. However, the effects of this medicinal plant in conjunction with dietary intervention on pre-diabetes have not yet been established. Consequently, this study sought to evaluate the effects of MB on glucose homeostasis in a diet-induced pre-diabetes rat model in the presence and absence of dietary intervention. Pre-diabetes was induced on male Sprague Dawley rats by a high fat high carbohydrate (HFHC) diet for a period of 20 weeks. Pre-diabetic male Sprague Dawley rats were treated with MB (250 mg/kg p.o.) in both the presence and absence of dietary intervention once a day every third day for a period of 12 weeks. The administration of MB with and without dietary intervention resulted in significantly improved glucose homeostasis through reduced caloric intake, body weights, with reduced plasma ghrelin concentration and glycated hemoglobin by comparison to the pre-diabetic control. MB administration also improved insulin sensitivity as evidenced by the expression of glucose transporter 4 (GLUT 4) and glycogen synthase on the prediabetic treated animals. These results suggest that MB has the potential to be used to manage pre-diabetes and prevent the progression to overt type 2 diabetes as it demonstrated the ability to restore glucose homeostasis even in the absence of dietary and lifestyle intervention., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Khumalo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Despite the success of antidiabetic drugs in alleviation of hyperglycaemia, diabetic complications, including renal dysfunction, continue to be a burden. This raises the need to seek alternative therapies that will alleviate these complications. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of dioxidovanadium(V) complex cis -[VO 2 (obz)py] on renal function in diabetic rats. Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats were treated with cis -[VO 2 (obz)py] (40 mg·kg -1 ) twice every third day for five weeks. Diabetic untreated and insulin-treated rats served as the diabetic control and positive control, respectively. Blood glucose concentrations, water intake, urinary output, and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were monitored weekly for five weeks. Rats were then euthanized, and blood and kidney tissues were collected for biochemical analysis. Significant decreases in blood glucose concentrations, MAP, glomerular filtration rate (GFR), and SGLT2 expression, as well as plasma angiotensin and aldosterone concentrations, were observed in the treated groups compared with the diabetic control. The complex also increased urinary glucose concentrations, antioxidant enzymes GPx and SOD concentrations, and decreased MDA concentrations and kidney injury molecule (KIM-1) concentrations. These findings suggest that the anti-hyperglycaemic effects of this vanadium complex may ameliorate kidney dysfunction in diabetes.

Cardiovascular complications are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in diabetes mellitus (DM). Despite the anti-hyperglycemic effects of various anti-diabetic therapeutic agents like insulin, some of these drugs are implicated in precipitating cardiovascular dysfunction. There is therefore an imperative need to seek alternative drugs that may ameliorate these complications. Accordingly, the aim of the study was to investigate the effects of a dioxidovanadium (V) complex, cis-[VO 2 (obz)py]) on selected cardiovascular function markers in STZ-induced diabetic rats. The vanadium complex (40 mg kg) was administered orally twice every 3rd day 5 weeks, non-diabetic and diabetic control groups received distilled water whereas the insulin group received subcutaneous insulin injections twice daily for 5 weeks. Blood glucose concentrations, mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate, triglycerides (TG) and total cholesterol concentrations were monitored weekly for 5 weeks. Rats were then euthanised and blood and hearts were collected for biochemical analysis. There was a significant decrease in blood glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol concentrations as well as blood pressure of vanadium treated rats compared to the untreated diabetic animals. Vanadium treatment also attenuated cardiac oxidative stress and decreased the expression of transforming growth factor β1 (TGFβ1) and Smad7. Lastly, the administration of the vanadium complex significantly decreased C reactive protein (CRP) and cardiotropin 1(CT-1) concentrations in the plasma and heart tissues. The administration of the dioxidovanadium(V) complex to diabetic rats culminated into cardio-protective effects. Taken together, these observations suggest that this metal complex exhibit a significant potential as an alternative therapeutic drug for DM management.

Diabetics are susceptible to hepatic dysfunction risks due to hyperglycaemia and insulin therapy. Conventional diabetes treatments improve glycaemic control; however, hepatic hazards associated with these agents remains a challenge. Accordingly, this study sought to investigate the effect of a dioxidovanadium complex (V) on the hepatic function in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Sprague-Dawley rats (240-250 g) were divided into 4 groups ( n = 6): nondiabetic control, diabetic control, insulin-treated, and vanadium complex groups. The dioxidovanadium (10, 20, and 40 mg/kg) was administered twice every 2nd day for 5 weeks and blood glucose concentration was monitored weekly. At the end of the experimental period, all the experimental groups were sacrificed, and then the lipid profile, liver superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and malondialdehyde, plasma alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase, and C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration were measured. The administration of dioxidovanadium significantly alleviated hyperglycaemia with concomitant attenuation in oxidative stress as evidenced by reduced malondialdehyde concentrations. Furthermore, vanadium complex abolished diabetes-induced dyslipidaemia. Lastly, vanadium complex administration attenuated the increase in alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and plasma C-reactive protein. These findings suggest that this metallo-compound (dioxidovanadium) may ameliorate liver dysfunction often observed in diabetes.

Background: Chronic hyperglycaemia-induced haematological changes increase the risk of cardiovascular complications in diabetic patients. The administration of insulin injection as a bolus is accompanied with increased blood viscosity, which is not recommended for patients with congestive heart failure. Momordica balsamina methanolic extract (MB) has previously been shown to possess anti-hyperglycaemic and renal dysfunction ameliorative effects; however, the haematological effects of MB have not been shown. The current study therefore, investigated the short-term effects MB on selected haematological parameters in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats., Methods: Briefly, the air-dried Momordica balsamina leaves were sequentially extracted with methanol to yield a methanolic extract. STZ-induced diabetic rats were divided into untreated and treated groups with insulin (170 μg kg -1 s.c.) and metformin (500 mg kg -1 p.o.) MB (250 mg kg -1 p.o.). MB was administered twice daily for the 5-week experimental period. Blood glucose concentration was monitored weekly. Animals were sacrificed terminally. Blood and kidneys were collected for haematological and biochemical analysis respectively., Results: Treatment with MB significantly decreased blood glucose concentration and improved erythropoietin secretion, thus significantly increasing red blood cell production in treated diabetic animals by comparison to untreated animals. MB also significantly improved haemoglobin concentrations and moderately increased erythrocyte indices specifically, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) to no significance by comparison to untreated diabetic animals. MB treatment decreased the oxidative stress evoked by the induction of diabetes while improving the antioxidant status of treated animals by comparison to untreated animals respectively., Conclusions: Administration of Momordica balsamina methanolic extract protects against some injurious haematological changes induced by hyperglycaemia, which may reduce the risks of cardiovascular complications., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)

Peripheral neuropathic condition is amongst the classical symptoms of progressed diabetes. An intensive glycemic control with insulin injections has been shown to delay the onset and the progression of this condition in diabetes. In this study, we investigated the effect of pectin-insulin patch application on peripheral neuropathic symptoms in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Pectin-insulin patches (20.0, 40.8, and 82.9 μg/kg) were daily applied thrice in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats for 45 days. The diabetic animals sham treated with insulin-free patch served as negative control, while diabetic animals receiving subcutaneous insulin served as positive controls. The locomotor activity, gripping strength, and thermal perception were assessed at day 36, day 40, and day 44, respectively. On the 45th day, the animals were sacrificed, after which the plasma insulin, nitric oxide, C-reactive protein, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and malondialdehyde were measured. The patch application attenuated hyperglycemia with an improvement in the locomotor activity, thermal perception, and gripping strength in diabetic animals. Furthermore, the application of the patch augmented plasma nitric oxide while attenuating plasma malondialdehyde and tumor necrosis factor alpha. The application of pectin-insulin patch delays the onset of peripheral neuropathic-like symptoms in diabetic animals.

Background: Studies suggest that Momordica balsamina ( intshungu ) possesses hypoglycaemic effects. The effects of Momordica balsamina on diabetic complications such as DN, however, have not been established. Accordingly, this study seeks to investigate the effects of M. balsamina on kidney function in STZ-induced diabetic rats., Methods: Methanolic extracts (ME) of M. balsamina 's leaves were used in this study. Short-term effects of M. balsamina methanolic extract on kidney function and MAP were studied in STZ-induced diabetic rats treated twice daily with M. balsamina methanolic extract (250 mg/kg), insulin (175  μ g/kg, s.c.), and metformin (500 mg/kg) for 5 weeks., Results: M. balsamina methanolic extract significantly increased Na + excretion outputs in STZ-induced diabetic rats by comparison to STZ-diabetic control rats. M. balsamina methanolic extract significantly increased GFR in STZ-diabetic rats with a concomitant decrease in creatinine concentration and also reduced kidney-to-body ratio, albumin excretion rate (AER), and albumin creatinine ratio (ACR). M. balsamina methanolic extract significantly reduced MAP in STZ-diabetic animals by comparison with STZ-diabetic control animals. These results suggest that M. balsamina methanolic extract not only lowers blood glucose but also has beneficial effects on kidney function and blood pressure., Conclusion: These findings suggest that M. balsamina may have beneficial effects on some processes that are associated with renal derangement in STZ-induced diabetic rats.

Background: Cardiovascular complications are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in diabetes mellitus. Despite the beneficial effects of subcutaneous insulin, reports suggest that the therapy itself precipitates cardiovascular risks due to the high insulin concentration administered. It is therefore necessary to seek alternative routes of insulin administration that may bypass the undesirable effects associated with high plasma insulin concentrations. Accordingly, the present study investigated the effects of a novel transdermal pectin-insulin patch on selected markers of cardiovascular function in diabetes., Methods: Pectin-insulin matrix patches (20.0, 40.8, and 82.9 μg/kg) were prepared as described previously. The three formulations were applied to streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats thrice daily. Blood glucose concentrations and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were monitored weekly for 5 weeks. Rats were then killed and blood collected for analysis of the lipid profile, cardiotropin-1, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP)., Results: The patches decreased blood glucose concentrations and diabetes-induced disturbances in lipid profile were attenuated by patch application (82.9 μg/kg). The diabetes-induced increase in MAP was also attenuated in patch (82.9 μg/kg)-treated rats. Patch treatment resulted in a decreased heart weight: body weight ratio, as well as reductions in cardiotropin-1, TNF-α, and hsCRP concentrations., Conclusions: Application of the pectin-insulin patch protects against the debilitating cardiovascular effects associated with conventional diabetes treatment. This suggests that the pectin-insulin patch may provide an effective alternative therapeutic approach to the commonly used subcutaneous insulin injections in the management of diabetes., (© 2017 Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Background/aims: Renal damage and dysfunction is attributed to sustained hyperglycaemia in overt diabetes. Subcutaneous insulin injections are beneficial in delaying the progression of renal dysfunction and damage in diabetics. However, the current mode of administration is associated with severe undesirable effects. In this study, we evaluated the ameliorative effects of pectin-insulin dermal patches on renal dysfunction in diabetes., Methods: Pectin-insulin patches (20.0, 40.8 and 82.9 µg/kg) were applied on the skin of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats, thrice daily for 5 weeks. Blood glucose concentration, blood pressure and urine output volume were recorded on week 5 after which the animals were sacrificed after which the kidneys and plasma were collected. Kidney nephrin expression and urinary nephrin concentration, albumin excretion rate (AER), creatinine clearance (CC) and albumin creatinine ratio (ACR) were assessed., Results: Patch application resulted in reduced blood glucose concentration and blood pressure. Furthermore, pectin-insulin patch treatment resulted in increased kidney nephrin expression and reduced urinary nephrin concentration. AER, CC ACR were also reduced post patch application., Conclusions: The application of pectin-insulin patch limited diabetes associated kidney damaged and improved kidney function. These observations suggest that pectin-insulin patches may ameliorate kidney dysfunction that is associated with chronic subcutaneous insulin administration., (© 2017 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.)