Protective Potential of Azadirachta indica Leaf Extract in Diabetic Rat Liver

Diabetes mellitus is a debilitating metabolic disorder and emerged as a major complication nowadays. The role of plants and their derivatives is indispensable in the treatment of various diseases. Azadirachta indica is a medicinal plant and holds a potential to attenuate the pathological changes associated with diabetes. In the present study streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats received the Azadirachta indica leaf extracts (ALE) treatment for a period of seven consecutive days (600 mg/Kg body weight) and then evaluated for changes in the liver tissue. The diabetic rats exhibited significant (p≤0.001) increase in the lipid peroxidation levels, decrease in GSH levels and modulation in the activities of various antioxidant enzymes including catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and glutathione-Stransferase. However, following ALE treatment to diabetic rats reported decrease in the blood glucose levels, lipid peroxidation levels, improved GSH levels and restored the activities of various antioxidant enzymes towards control levels. Besides this, light microscopic and ultramicroscopic examination of liver tissue also demonstrated less fragmentation, inflammation and decreased tissue level damage after ALE treatment, and corroborated the results of biochemical parameters. Thus, the results of present study revealed the hepatoprotective potential of Azadirachta indica in diabetes.