Diabetes mellitus is one of the serious global health problems affecting a significant proportion of both developed and developing countries. Overproduction of free radicals and oxidative stress has been associated with the development of diabetic complications. In the present study, the antioxidant effects of metformin (MET), glibenclamide (GLI), and repaglinide (REP) were evaluated in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. The findings from this study may possibly help in understanding the efficacy of these standard drugs in managing the complications arising from diabetes mellitus (DM). Alloxan (130 mg/kg BW) was administered as a single dose to induce diabetes. Four (4) groups of rats (n = 6) were used; group 1 served as diabetic control while groups 2, 3, and 4 were the diabetic test groups that received MET (25 mg/kg), GLI (2.5 mg/kg), and REP (0.5 mg/kg), respectively. The result of the study showed significant (p < 0.05) improvement in the altered antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT) and GSH concentration in diabetic treated rats compared with the diabetic control group. MET and REP produced significant effect on the MDA concentration while GLI showed insignificant reduction in the MDA concentration compared with the diabetic control. Findings from this study suggest that the administration of MET, GLI, and REP exerts significant antioxidant effects in alloxan-induced diabetic rats, thus contributing to the protective effect against oxidative stress-induced damage during diabetic complications.

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This study investigated the application of crude methanol extract (CME) of Zapoteca portoricensis root and its methanol (MF) and ethyl acetate (EAF) fractions in managing benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Forty-five albino rats (180-200 g) were divided into nine groups of five rats each: Group 1 served as normal control. BPH was induced in groups 2-9 using dihydrotestosterone and estradiol. Group 2 served as BPH-control and group 3 was dutasteride-treated. Groups 4 and 5, 6 and 7, and 8 and 9 were respectively treated with 200 and 400 mg/kg/d b.w. of CME, 200 and 400 mg/kg/d b.w. of MF, and 200 and 400 mg/kg/d b.w. of EAF, respectively for 14 days orally. The effects of the extracts on the hematological and biochemical indices of the rats were assessed. At 400 mg/kg/d b.w, p.o. using a gavage, CME, MF and EAF decreased prostatic specific antigen by 55.91%, 57.54% and 56.75%, respectively comparable to 58.80% by dutasteride (an indication of improved prostate status). The extracts also restored BPH-modified hematological and biochemical status of BPHinduced-extracts-treated rats compared to BPH-control. These findings suggest that Z. portoricensis root extracts normalize aberrations associated with BPH and may justify the plant's folkloric use in the management of BPH.

SummaryThe effect of feeding of cholesterol equivalent to 7.692 and 10.026 mg/kg/day on plasma lecithin: cholesterol aryl transferase activity in rats was examined. The enzyme activity was increased significantly in the cholesterol-fed rats (p <0.01) when compared with the level in the control animals fed a normal diet and was found to be dose (amount of cholesterol incorporated) dependent. The former group also showed relative significant increases in the plasma levels of cholesteryl ester and lysolecithin (p<0.05) and decreased levels of lecithin (p<0.01). Changes in free cholesterol levels were, however, not statistically significant (p>0.05) in the cholesterol-fed rats. The implications of these findings are discussed with respect to atherogenesis.Although the rate of mortality has been reduced, cardiovascular disease still remains one of the leading causes of death in developed countries. Studies in this area are mostly preventive and have focused on ways of reducing plasma cholesterol by nutritional means. Diet plays an important role in controlling blood lipids. The effect of dietary fat on blood lipids has been studied [1][2][3], but the effects on lipid-metabolizing enzymes have not been studied as such, despite the fact that these enzymes are responsible for changes in plasma lipids.Lecithin cholesterol acyl transferase (LCAT, EC 2.3.1.43) catalyzes the transfer of fatty acids from the C-2 position of lecithin to cholesterol [4]. In humans, almost all plasma cholesteryl ester is formed by the activity of this enzyme [5,6]. The enzyme has been implicated in the transport of cholesterol from peripheral tissues to the liver [6,7], and individuals devoid of this enzyme [8] show abnormal plasma lipoproteins [9]. In the absence of LCAT activity, both