Glycemic and Biochemical Effects of Polyphenol-Rich Fraction of Parkia biglobosa Leaves in Wistar rats Experimentally Induced with Diabetes

Abstract

Increased reactive oxygen species generation during chronic hyperglycemia and associated oxidative/inflammatory stress are responsible for the various complications of diabetes. Thus, numerous consequences of diabetes may be delayed or prevented with intensive postprandial glycemic control. However, available treatment has proven insufficient and/or less effective for glycemic management 7 leading to the exploration of better alternatives in order to curb the growing disease trend. Medicinal plants not only offer important therapeutic support for alleviating several health disorders, but they also play important roles in the discovery of novel compounds with great therapeutic potential. Natural compounds are gaining wide acceptance globally due to their better safety profiles relative to synthetic compounds. Parkia biglobosa (African locust bean tree) has been widely recognized as an important multipurpose indigenous fruit tree in West Africa. 8,9 The Parkia biglobosa plant has been found useful in disease management traditionally and its different effects are backed by both folkloric and scientific evidence. 10,11,12 Present in a variety of plants and plant parts, the therapeutic benefits of polyphenols are well documented in the literature, ranging from basic antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects to modulation of key cellular enzyme functions. 13,14 We had earlier reported the effectiveness of polyphenol-rich fraction of P. biglobosa leaves in attenuating high fructose-induced biochemical aberrations in rats. 15 In this study, the effect of the polyphenol-rich fraction of P. biglobosa leaves on the biochemical status of experimentally-induced diabetes in rats was carried out.