RESUMO
Diabetes mellitus is associated with significant morbidity and mortality that contributes to pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. Diosgenin, a naturally occurring aglycone, is present abundantly in fenugreek. The steroidal saponin is being used as a traditional medicine for diabetes. The present study has investigated the effects of diosgenin on lipid profile in the heart and brain, mRNA expression, and hepatic HMG-CoA reductase (HMGR) activity of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. In our study, diosgenin was administered (40 mg/kg b.w.) orally for 45 days to control animals and experimentally induced diabetic rats. The effects of diosgenin on glucose, plasma insulin, cholesterol, triglycerides, free fatty acids, and phospholipids (PLs) in the heart and brain were studied. The levels of glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, free fatty acids, PLs, and HMGR activity were increased significantly (P < 0.05) whereas plasma insulin level was decreased in diabetic rats. Administration of diosgenin to diabetic rats significantly reduced blood glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, free fatty acids, PLs levels, and also HMGR activity. In addition, the plasma insulin level was increased in diosgenin-treated diabetic rats. The above findings were correlated with histological observations of the heart and brain. The results showed that administration of diosgenin remarkably increased plasma insulin level with absolute reduction of blood glucose, lipid profile, and HMGR level when compared to diabetic control rats. The results have suggested that diosgenin prevents hypercholesterolemia and hepatosteatosis by modulation of enzymatic expression that is associated with cholesterol metabolism.