No abstract

Full funding sources listed at the end of the paper (see Acknowledgments).

Population Health Research Institute, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, Canadian Institutes of Health Research Strategy for Patient Oriented Research through the Ontario SPOR Support Unit, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, pharmaceutical companies (with major contributions from AstraZeneca [Canada], Sanofi Aventis [France and Canada], Boehringer Ingelheim [Germany amd Canada], Servier, and GlaxoSmithKline), Novartis and King Pharma, and national or local organisations in participating countries.

Full funding sources listed at the end of the paper (see Acknowledgments).

Previous studies from our laboratories indicate that the antidiabetic effects of Syzygium cordatum (Hochst.) [Myrtaceae] leaf extract in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats may be attributed in part to mixtures of triterpenes, oleanolic acid (3ß-hydroxy-olea-12-en-28-oic acid, OA) and ursolic acid (3ß -hydroxyl-urs-12-en-28-oic acid, UA). For the bioactive compounds to have potential in diabetes management, they should alleviate or prevent complications of diabetes mellitus, kidney function, and cardiovascular disorders. This study was, therefore, designed to assess whether S. cordatum leaf derived OA influenced renal function evaluated by the ability to increase urinary Na + outputs parameters and creatinine clearance (Ccr) of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Extraction and fractionation of S. cordatum powdered leaf ethyl acetate-solubles (EAS) yielded mixtures of OA/UA and methyl maslinate/methyl corosolate. Recrystallization of OA/UA mixture using ethanol afforded OA, the structure of which was confirmed by NMR spectroscopy ( 1 H & 13 C). Acute effects of OA on kidney function and mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) were investigated in anesthetized rats challenged with hypotonic saline after a 3.5-h equilibration for 4h of 1 h control, 1.5 h treatment, and 1.5 h recovery periods. OA was added to the infusate during the treatment period. Chronic effects of OA were studied in individually caged rats treated twice daily with OA (60 mg/kg, p.o.) for five weeks. By comparison with respective control animals administration, OA significantly increased Na + excretion rates of non-diabetic and STZ-induced diabetic rats without affecting urine flow, K + and Cl − rates. At the end of five weeks, OA treatment significantly (p < 0.05) increased Ccr in non-diabetic (2.88 ± 0.14 vs. 3.71 ± 0.30 ml/min) and STZdiabetic rats (1.81 ± 0.32 vs. 3.07 ± 0.16 ml/min) with concomitant reduction of plasma creatinine concentration (n = 6 in all groups). OA also caused significant decreases in MAP in nondiabetic and STZ-induced diabetic rats. These findings suggest that OA may have beneficial effects on some processes associated with renal derangement of STZ-induced diabetic rats.