Effect of Spirulina platensis ingestion on the abnormal biochemical and oxidative stress parameters in the pancreas and liver of alloxan-induced diabetic rats.

CONTEXT Previous studies have shown that Spirulina platensis Gomont (Phormidiaceae) (SP) extract has beneficial effects on many disease conditions. The putative protective effects of SP were investigated in diabetic rats. OBJECTIVE The current study investigates the antioxidant effects of SP in diabetic Wistar rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS Alloxan monohydrate (150 mg/kg body weight) was intraperitoneally administrated to induce diabetes. An aqueous suspension of SP powder in distillate water (10% w/v) was administrated orally by gavage (1 mL/day) for 50 days. Histopathological, biochemical and antioxidant analyses were performed. Glycemia, liver function and HOMA-IR were assessed using Spinreact and ELISA kits. RESULTS SP exhibited high-antioxidant activity. The IC50 values of the SP aqueous extract were 70.40 and 45.69 mg/L compared to those of the standard antioxidant BHT, which were 27.97 and 19.77 mg/L, for the DPPH and ABTS tests, respectively. The diabetic animals showed a significant increase in glycaemia (from 4.05 to 4.28 g/L) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (50.17 mmol/g protein) levels. Treatment with SP significantly reduced glycaemia by 79% and liver function markers [glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT), glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT) and alkaline phosphatase (Alk-p)]) by 25, 36 and 20%, respectively, compared to that of the controls. There was a significant increase in superoxide dismutase (48%), total antioxidant status (43%), glutathione peroxidase (37%) and glutathione reductase (16%) in the diabetic rats treated with SP. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION These results showed that SP has high antioxidant activity, free radical scavenging, antihyperglycemic and hepatoprotective effects in diabetes.