Therapeutic Effect of Zygophyllum cornutum on Metabolic Disturbances, Oxidative Stress in Heart Tissue and Histological Changes in Myocardium of Streptozotocin-induced Diabetic Rats

The present study depicts the therapeutic effect of Zygophyllum cornutum methanolic extract (ZCME) on metabolic disturbances, oxidative stress in heart and myocardium histological changes in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats.Three days after diabetes induction, ZCME was administered orally for six weeks (700 mg/kg bw/day).Serum glucose and lipid profile were evaluated.Reduced glutathione (GSH), catalase (CAT) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were measured in heart tissue.The results showed increased levels of blood glucose, total cholesterol (TC), LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglyceride (TG) in the diabetic rats.On the other hand, the level of HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) decreased.Compared to the control normal rats, the level of TBARS in heart tissue was markedly increased while GSH and CAT were significantly modified in the diabetic rats.Oral administration of ZCME has normalized serum glucose and lipid profile.TBARS were significantly reduced in heart while CAT and GSH were markedly normalized.Myocardium sections showed the absence of histological changes observed in the diabetic rats.The study suggests that Zygophyllum cornutum may provide a useful therapeutic option in the reversal of metabolic disturbances and oxidative stress-induced cardiac dysfunction in diabetes mellitus.