Endocrine Abstracts

In type 1 diabetes mellitus, tight glycaemic control is required to attenuate chronic complications and often requires daily injectable insulin therapy, which can result in non-compliance because of patient discomfort. As a result of this, some studies are concerned with optional routes of insulin administration. In our laboratory, we have developed amidated pectin (polygalacturonic acid) hydrogel beads for oral insulin administration. The aim of present was to investigate whe...

Medical plants believed to be safe and cost effective than synthetic hypoglycaemic agents play important roles in the management of diabetes mellitus in developing countries where resources are meagre. We have isolated triterpenes from Syzygium aromaticum as the bioactive compounds that possesses hypoglycaemic effects in experimental diabetes. However, the poor water solubility of triterpenes observed in oral administration has necess...

Medical plants believed to be safe and cost effective than synthetic hypoglycaemic agents play important roles in the management of diabetes mellitus in developing countries where resources are meagre. We have isolated triterpenes from Syzygium aromaticum as the bioactive compounds that possesses hypoglycaemic effects in experimental diabetes. However, the poor water solubility of triterpenes observed in oral administration has necess...

The wide range of phytochemicals in medicinal plants serves as sources of bioactive compounds for treatment diabetic complications. We investigated whether Syzygium aromaticum-isolated oleanolic acid (OA) has beneficial effects on some diabetic complications in STZ-induced diabetic rats. We used experimental models of hypertension [spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) and Dahl salt-sensitive (DSS)] rats to explore the effects of OA on mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) and renal f...

Oral administration of chloroquine (CHQ) evokes adverse effects on glucose homeostasis and kidney function possibly due to transiently high plasma CHQ concentration or malaria. We have, however, reported that transdermally administered CHQ via the pectin CHQ-matrix patch formulation sustains controlled CHQ release into the bloodstream in experimental animals. Accordingly, the current study was designed to compare the ability of oral and transdermal CHQ treatments to clear para...

Diabetes mellitus is characterized by partial or total deficiency of insulin resulting in derangement of carbohydrate metabolism and a decrease in the activity of glycogenic enzymes resulting in depletion of liver and muscle glycogen. Accordingly, this study assessed the influence of OA on two key glycogenic enzymes of skeletal muscle and liver tissues in STZ-induced diabetic rats. We have, however, reported that the anti-hyperglycaemic effects of Syzygium aromaticum de...

We have reported that the anti-hyperglycaemic effects of Syzygium cordatum leaf triterpene mixtures (oleanolic acid (OA) and ursolic acid) in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats are mediated in part via increased hepatic glycogen synthesis. To further elucidate the mechanism(s) of the hypoglycaemic effects of the triterpene, this study investigated the effects of plant derived OA on glycogenic enzyme activities in STZ-induced diabetic rats. Pure OA was obtained f...

Investigations conducted in our laboratory have shown that transdermal delivery of insulin has several potential advantages over the conventional route. These pectin-insulin (PI)-containing dermal patches possess the ability to maintain sustained controlled release of insulin into the bloodstream of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats with concomitant reduction of blood glucose levels. We have successfully formulated and optimized the concoction of the PI-containing dermal pa...

Available evidence suggests that Syzygium spp ethyl acetate extract solubles (EAS) contain triterpene constituents; oleanolic acid (OA), ursolic acid (UA) and methyl maslinate with hypoglycaemic properties. The effects of maslinic acid (MA) on blood glucose in type 1 diabetes mellitus are, however, unclear. Accordingly, we evaluated anti-hyperglycaemic effects of MA in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats, an experimental model for type 1 diabetes. Extraction and fractio...

Chloroquine, the commonly used in the treatment of malaria has been reported to elicit adverse effects such as hypoglycaemia through unknown mechanisms. In particular, literature to date has revealed that the effects of the drug on insulin concentrations remain obscure. Our investigation therefore focuses on establishing a possible mechanism of CHQ-induced hypoglycaemia with regards to its effects on plasma insulin concentrations. The purpose of this study was to investigate t...