Phenolic Profiles, Antihyperglycemic, Anti-Diabetic, and Antioxidant Properties of Egyptian Sonchus oleraceus Leaves Extract: An In Vivo Study

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the phenolic and antioxidant properties of Egyptian Sonchus oleraceus leaves extract (SOE) while comparing the antihyperglycemic efficacy of SOE with that of conventional medicines (glibenclamide) in vivo as a substitution for insulin-deficient patients. Total phenolic (TPC) and flavonoid contents (TFC) in SOE contributed around 127.66 ± 0.56 mg GAE/gm as gallic acid equivalent (GAE) and 74.80 ± 0.55 mg QE/gm as quercetin equivalent (QE). SOE also showed significant DPPH scavenging activity at 43.46%. The presence of five phenolic and six flavonoid compounds in SOE was discovered by HPLC analysis. For the in vivo assay, 42 rats were distributed into six groups (7 Wister albino rats each). The standard control group was fed a basal diet. While the 35 rats were induced with a single dose of 100 mg kg^-1 body weight (b.w.) alloxan, then treated orally with glibenclamide (GLI) at 10 mg kg^-1, 100, 200, and 300 mg kg^-1 SOE (positive control group) for 56 days of routine gastric oral gavages and compared to the effects of GLI, the treatment of SOE 200 and 300 mg kg^-1 in diabetic rats for two months dramatically decreased blood glucose, total lipid, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC) while boosting high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) levels and improving liver and kidney functions. The histological assay revealed that the SOE 300 mg kg^-1 treatment significantly improved the pancreas tissues, implying the potential application of Egyptian SOE as a diabetes treatment.

Keywords: DPPH; Sonchus oleraceus; and flavonoid; hyperglycemic; total phenolic.

Figure 1

(a) Pancreas section from a rat without any treatment (G1) showing a normal structure of islets of Langerhans (H&E × 200); (b) Pancreas section from a diabetic rat (G2) displaying degenerative changes in pancreatic acini and islets of Langerhans (H&E × 200); (c) Pancreas section from diabetic rats treated with Glibenclamide at 10 mg kg⁻¹ (G3) exhibiting a nearly normal histological structure with focal regeneration of islets of Langerhans (H&E × 400); (d) Pancreas section from diabetic rats treated with SOE at 100 mg kg⁻¹ (G4) showing mild degenerative changes with few focal mononuclear cellular infiltrations (H&E × 100); (e) Pancreas section from diabetic rats treated with SOE at 200 mg kg⁻¹ (G5) revealing focal segmentations and hyalinosis (H&E × 100); (f) Pancreas section from diabetic rats treated with SOE at 300 mg kg⁻¹ (G6) displaying a normal histological structure of islets of Langerhans (H&E × 200).