Impacts of Dietary Chrysophyllum albidum Fruit Pulp on Brain Cholinesterase Function in High-Fat Diet/Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

Epidemiologic studies have shown strong correlations between Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes mellitus. The exact mechanism through which this happens remains unclear. However, the dependence on glucose for brain function has been proposed as one possible mechanism. Hence, this study investigated the neuroprotective potential of Chrysophyllum albidum fruit pulp (CAPP) with hypoglycaemic properties in diabetic rats induced with high-fat diet/streptozotocin (STZ). The animals were grouped into seven units as follows: control, STZ-induced, STZ + metformin (positive control), STZ + 5% CAPP, STZ + 10% CAPP, control + 5% CAPP and control + 10% CAPP and each group was made up of six rats. The animals were first placed on normal diet (non-diabetic groups) and high fat diet (diabetic groups) for a fortnight, respectively before induction with STZ and were treated with diets containing 5 and 10% CAPP for 14 days. After the experiment, the rat brain cholinesterase and antioxidant activities were determined. The results revealed that acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butylcholinesterase (BuChE), arginase, adenosine deaminase (ADA) and antioxidant activities were altered in STZ-diabetic group in comparison to the control. However, a significant decrease at p < 0.05 was found in the activities of AChE, BuChE, arginase and ADA. In addition, there was a concomitant rise in the levels of antioxidant in all the groups administered supplemented diets and the group treated with metformin in comparison to the STZ-diabetic group. Conclusively, we can suggest that the fruit pulp prevents neurological damage in diabetic rats via anticholinesterase activity and improvement of brain antioxidant status

Effect of formulated polyherbal tea blends on erectile function biomarkers in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic Male Rats

This study determined the effect of polyherbal tea blend (PTB) from Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) Calyx, Soursop (Annona. Muricata), and Moringa (Moringa oleifera) leave on fasting blood glucose level (FBGL), glycated hemoglobin, insulin, and enzymes [arginase, angiotensin-I converting enzyme, thiobarbituric acid reactive species, phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5), and purinergic and antioxidant enzymes] related to erectile dysfunction (ED) in the penile homogenate of diabetes mellitus (DM) rats’ model. The samples were prepared and blended in the ratio of 2:2:6 and bagged to contain 1 gram. The sweetening/sweetening (S/US- PTB) teabags, were infused with 20 ml of boiled water for 5 (S/US-PTB-5) and 10 (S/US-PTB-10) min, respectively. The animals were made diabetic [except the normal control (NC) group] with streptozotocin intraperitoneally, and grouped into NC, DM, DM+Acarbose (ACA), DM+S-PTB-5, DM+S-PTB-10, DM+US-PTB-5, and DM+US-PTB-10. The result revealed that the PTB decreased FBGL and related enzymes, but improved insulin level and antioxidant status in the diabetes-induced ED (DMED), while the S/US-PTB-10 appeared better. Since the formulated PTB is in line with the therapeutic effect, the tea can be used as a therapeutic agent for managing not only diabetes but also DMED. However, sexual behavior, clinical trials, and phytochemical screening of the PTB should be carried out

Modulation of some markers of erectile dysfunction and malonaldehyde levels in isolated rat penile tissue with unripe and ripe plantain peels: identification of the constituents of the plants using HPLC

Context: Plantain fruit pulp has been used as a natural remedy to manage erectile dysfunction (ED) in traditional medicine. However, the potency of the peel has not been examined with respect to ED management. Objective: This study investigated and compared the inhibitory potential of unripe (UPP) and ripe (RPP) plantain peels on some enzymes associated with ED and Fe2+-induced oxidative stress in albino rat penile homogenate in vitro. Materials and method: Aqueous extract of the peels was prepared and the effect on phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5), arginase, acetylcholinesterase (AChE), angiotensin-I converting enzyme (ACE) and Fe2+-induced malonyladehyde in isolated albino rat penile homogenate were investigated. Phenolic constituents of the peels powder were characterized using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detector (HPLC-DAD). Result: Extract from UPP had higher PDE-5 (IC50 = 3.10 μg/mL), arginase (IC50 = 0.96 μg/mL), AChE (IC50 = 6.30 μg/mL) and ACE (IC50 = 0.41 μg/mL) inhibitory ability compared with RPP (PDE-5, IC50 = 4.33 μg/mL; arginase, IC50 = 1.34 μg/mL; AChE, IC50 = 8.64 μg/mL; ACE, IC50 = 0.63 μg/mL). The extract from UPP also had higher inhibition of Fe2+-induced lipid peroxidation. HPLC-DAD analysis revealed that gallic and caffeic acids, rutin, quercitrin and quercetin were abundant in UPP, while catechin, kaempferol, chlorogenic and ellagic acids were the dominant phenolic compounds in RPP. Discussion and conclusion: Inhibition of enzymes associated with ED and lipid peroxidation could be linked with the phenolic compounds. However, UPP appeared to be more potent