Since some complications of diabetes mellitus may be caused or exacerbated by an oxidative stress, the protective effects of garlic (Allium sativum) were investigated in the blood and heart of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Twenty-eight male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups: control, garlic, diabetic, and diabetic+garlic. Diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of streptozotocin (50 mg/kg) in male rats. Rats were fed with raw fresh garlic homogenate (250 mg/kg) six days a week by gavage for a period of 6 weeks. At the end of the 6th week blood samples and heart tissues were collected and used for determination of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), malondialdehyde (MDA) and histological evaluation. Induction of diabetes increased MDA levels in blood and homogenates of heart. In diabetic rats treated with garlic, MDA levels decreased in blood and heart homogenates. Treatment of diabetic rats with garlic increased SOD, GPX and CAT in blood and heart homogenates. Histopathological finding of the myocardial tissue confirmed a protective role for garlic in diabetic rats. Thus, the present study reveals that garlic may effectively modulate antioxidants status in the blood and heart of streptozotocin induced-diabetic rats.
Abrahim NN , Kanthimathi MS, Abdul-Aziz A: Piper betle shows antioxidant activities, inhibits MCF-7 cell proliferation and increases activities of catalase and superoxide dismutase. BMC. Complement Altern. Med. 15, 12–220 (2012)
Amagase H , Petesch BL, Matsuura H, Kasuga S, Itakura Y: Intake of garlic and its bioactive components. J. Nutr. 131, 955S–962S (2001)
Badalzadeh R , Layeghzadeh N, Alihemmati A, Mohammadi M: Beneficial effect of troxerutin on diabetes induced vascular damages in rat aorta: histopathological alterations and antioxidation mechanism. Int. J. Endocrinol. Metab. 13, e25969 (2015)
Bao H , Chen L: [Icariin reduces mitochondrial oxidative stress injury in diabetic rat hearts]. Zhongguo. Zhong. Yao. Za. Zhi. 36, 1503–1507 (2011)
Baynes JW : Role of oxidative stress in development of complications in diabetes. Diabetes 40, 405–412 (1991)
Capasso A : Antioxidant action and therapeutic efficacy of Allium sativum L. Molecules 18, 690–700 (2013)
Chan JY , Yuen AC, Chan RY, Chan SW: A review of the cardiovascular benefits and antioxidant properties of allicin. Phytother. Res. 27, 637–646 (2013)
Cheng AYY , Josse RG: Intestinal absorption inhibitors for type 2 diabetes mellitus: prevention and treatment. Drug Discov. Today Ther. Strateg. 1, 201–206 (2004)
Drobiova H , Thomson M, Al-Qattan K, Peltonen-Shalaby R, Al-Amin Z, Ali M: Garlic increases antioxidant levels in diabetic and hypertensive rats determined by a modified peroxidase method. Evid. Based Complement Alternat. Med. 2011, ID 703049 (2011)
El-Demerdash FM , Yousef MI, El-Naga NI: Biochemical study on the hypoglycemic effects of onion and garlic in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Food Chem. Toxicol. 43, 57–63 (2005)
Erejuwa OO : Management of diabetes mellitus: could simultaneous targeting of hyperglycemia and oxidative stress be a better panacea? Int. J. Mol. Sci. 13, 2965–2972 (2012)
Fiorentino TV , Prioletta A, Zuo P, Folli F: Hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress and its role in diabetes mellitus related cardiovascular diseases. Curr. Pharm. Des. 19, 5695–5703 (2013)
Giugliano D , Ceriello A, Paolisso G: Oxidative stress and diabetic vascular complications. Diabetes Care 19, 257–267 (1996)
Jain RC , Vyas CR: Garlic in alloxan-induced diabetic rabbits. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 28, 684–685 (1975)
Kim SM , Kubota K, Kobayashi A: Antioxidative activity of sulfur-containing flavor compounds in garlic. Biosci. Biotech. Bioch. 61, 1482–1485 (1997)
Kumar R , Chhatwal S, Arora S, Sharma S, Singh J, Singh N, Bhandari V, Khurana A: Antihyperglycemic, antihyperlipidemic, anti inflammatory and adenosine deaminase low ring effects of garlic in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with obesity. Diabetes Metab. Syndr. Obes. 6, 49–56 (2013)
Lanzotti V : The analysis of onion and garlic. J. Chromatogr. A. 1112, 3–22 (2006)
Liu Y , Qi H, Wang Y, Wu M, Cao Y, Huang W, Li L, Ji Z, Sun H: Allicin protects against myocardial apoptosis and fibrosis in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Phytomedicine 19, 693–698 (2012)
Mohammadi M , Ghaznavi R, Keyhanmanesh R, Sadeghipour HR, Naderi R, Mohammadi H: Voluntary exercise prevents lead-induced elevation of oxidative stress and inflammation markers in male rat blood. Sci. World J. 2013, ID 320704 (2013)
Negre-Salvayre A , Salvayre R, Augé N, Pamplona R, Portero-Otín M: Hyperglycemia and glycation in diabetic complications. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 11, 3071–3109 (2009)
Nishimura H , Higuchi O, Tateshita K: Antioxidative activity of sulfur-containing compounds in Allium species for human LDL oxidation in vitro. Biofactors 21, 277–280 (2004)
Park SA , Choi MS, Jung UJ, Kim MJ, Kim DJ, Park HM, Park YB, Lee MK: Eucommia ulmoides Oliver leaf extract increases endogenous antioxidant activity in type 2 diabetic mic. J. Med. Food 9, 474–479 (2006)
Queiroz YS , Ishimoto EY, Bastos DH, Sampaio GR, Torres EA: Garlic (Allium sativum L.) and ready-to-eat garlic products: In vitro antioxidant activity. Food Chem. 115, 371–374 (2009)
Rajani Kanth V , Uma Maheswara Reddy P, Raju TN: Attenuation of streptozotocin-induced oxidative stress in hepatic and intestinal tissues of Wistar rat by methanolic-garlic extract. Acta Diabetol. 45, 243–251 (2008)
Somi MH , Hajipour B, Asl NA, Estakhri R, Azar AN, Zade MN, Haghjou AG, Vatankhah AM: Pioglitazone attenuates ischemia/reperfusion-induced liver injury in rats. Transplant. Proc. 41, 4105–4109 (2009)
Wang GG , Li W, Lu XH, Zhao X, Xu L: Taurine attenuates oxidative stress and alleviates cardiac failure in type I diabetic rats. Croat. Med. J. 54, 171–179 (2013)
Youn JY , Park HY, Cho KH: Anti-hyperglycemic activity of Commelina communis L.: inhibition of alphaglucosidase. Diabetes Res. Clin. Pract. 66, 149–155 (2004)