Diosgenin attenuates cardiac oxidative stress in streptozotocin- induced diabetic rat

Background and Objective: Chronic diabetes mellitus (DM) leads to cardiovascular dysfunction. Diosgenin is a natural steroidal saponin with cardiovascular protective potential. In this research study, the beneficial effect of diosgenin was evaluated on some markers of oxidative stress in cardia tissue of streptozotocin (STZ)-diabetic rats. Materials and Methods: Male Wistar rats (n = 28) were divided into equal-sized control, diosgenin-treated control, diabetic, and diosgenin-treated diabetic groups. Diabetes was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (60 mg/kg). Diosgenin was administered p.o. at a dose of 40 mg/kg for 7 weeks. Some markers of oxidative stress including malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and reduced glutathione (GSH) were measured in cardiac tissue homogenate. Results: It was found out that diabetic group had an elevated MDA content (p