The effects of Rosmarinus officinalis L. essential oil and its nanoemulsion on dyslipidemic Wistar rats.

Dyslipidemias are lipid metabolism alterations that cause increased levels of serum lipoprotein, cholesterol, and triglycerides. These alterations are associated with a higher incidence of cardiovascular diseases and are a risk factor for atherosclerosis development. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of Rosmarinus officinalis essential oil (EORO, 100 mg/kg) and its nanoemulsion (NEORO, 500 µg/kg) on Triton and coconut saturated-fat-induced (CSF) dyslipidemias using Wistar rats. The phytochemical evaluation of EORO performed by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) revealed 1,8-cineole (33.70%), camphor (27.68%), limonene (21.99%), and α-pinene (8.13%) as its major compounds. Triton-induced dyslipidemia significantly increased total cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides levels. On the other hand, the groups treated with EORO and NEORO had significantly reduced total cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides compared to the group treated only with Triton. Similar results were observed on the positive control treated with simvastatin. Dyslipidemia induced with coconut saturated-fat (CSF) caused abdominal fat gain, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, increased LDL levels, and atherogenesis in the aorta. In contrast, the groups treated with EORO, NEORO, and simvastatin had significantly reduced hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia, reduced abdominal fat gain, and absence of atherogenesis in the vascular endothelium. Overall, in the Triton-induced dyslipidemia model, EORO treatment had superior values than NEORO's (and simvastatin), although the differences were not too high, while in the CSF model, the values were mixed. In this manner, our results show an anti-dyslipidemic and anti-atherogenic activity effect by EORO and NEORO.

Chrysin Induces Antidiabetic, Antidyslipidemic and Anti-Inflammatory Effects in Athymic Nude Diabetic Mice.

Extensive knowledge of diabetes and its complications is helpful to find new drugs for proper treatment to stop degenerative changes derived from this disease. In this context, chrysin (5,7-dihydroxyflavone) is a natural product that occurs in a variety of flowers and fruits with anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic effects, among others. Thus, a diabetic model in athymic nude mice was developed and used to establish the ability of chrysin to decrease the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Also, it was determined the acute (50 mg/kg) and sub-acute (50 mg/kg/day/10 days) antidiabetic and antihyperlipidemic activities after the period of time treatment. Results indicate that chrysin has significant acute antihyperglycemic and antidiabetic effects in nude diabetic mice (p < 0.05). Moreover, triglyceride blood levels were reduced and IL-1ß and TNF-α were diminished after 10 days' treatment compared with control group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, it was found that chrysin could produce similar effects as metformin, a drug used for the treatment of diabetes, since both test samples decreased glucose and triglycerides levels, they impaired the generation of pro-inflammatory cytokines involved in the development of diabetes and its consequences, such as atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular diseases.

Antidiabetic Potential of Potentilla fulgens Roots in Validated Animal Models of Diabetes

The present study was undertaken to investigate the antidiabetic potential of tap roots of Potentilla fulgens in streptozotocin induced diabetic rat models. The crude powder, ethanolic, ethanolic: aqueous and aqueous extracts of tap roots were administered to normoglycemic- and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats in a single dose study. The ethanolic extract showed significant improvement in oral glucose tolerance and antihyperglycemic effect on sucrose loaded normal rats and STZ-induced diabetic rats. Of the isolated aqueous, n-butanol, chloroform and n-hexane soluble fractions of the active ethanolic extract of the roots, the aqueous fraction (100 mg/kg body weight) showed significant blood glucose lowering effect on STZ-induced diabetic rats. In a multiple dose study, aqueous fraction of ethanolic extract of P. fulgens roots significantly improved the body weight, percent glycated hemoglobin (%HbA1c), fasting blood glucose, oral glucose tolerance (OGTT), serum insulin, lipid profile, liver and kidney parameters in STZ-induced diabetic rats. The aqueous fraction also showed marked improvement in OGTT and serum insulin level in neonatal STZ-induced diabetic rats for 30 consecutive days. The aqueous fraction of the roots also inhibited the activity of alpha (α)-glucosidase enzyme in a dose dependent manner. In conclusion, the finding suggested that an aqueous fraction of tap roots of P. fulgens possessed potential antidiabetic activity.