article · Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy
Extracts from the flowers of Oxalis pes-caprae demonstrate significant antioxidant and antidiabetic properties in laboratory and animal tests. Methanolic extracts proved particularly rich in phenolic compounds, showing strong free radical scavenging, iron chelating, and antiglycation activities, along with inhibition of key carbohydrate-digesting enzymes. In diabetic mice treated daily for three weeks, oral doses of the extract lowered blood glucose levels comparably to the reference drug glibenclamide. Additionally, the extract boosted the activity of antioxidant and glycolysis enzymes within the liver, kidney, and spleen, helping to protect tissues against oxidative damage and high blood sugar.
Diabetes causes chronic high blood sugar and oxidative damage that lead to severe long-term complications. By showing that Oxalis pes-caprae flower extracts can lower blood glucose and boost cellular antioxidant defences in mice, this research highlights a potential natural source for developing supportive therapies to manage diabetes and reduce tissue damage caused by oxidative stress.
This work points towards potential applications in pharmaceutical drug discovery or therapeutic nutraceutical development for diabetes management. Potential users include pharmaceutical developers and natural product researchers seeking plant-derived antidiabetic agents. The research remains at an early preclinical stage, having been verified only through laboratory assays and animal models, requiring further safety, formulation, and clinical trials before any real-world use is possible.
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Diabetes and its complications are closely correlated with chronic hyperglycemia, causing severe oxidative stress and leading to glycation reaction with formation of advanced glycation end products. However, medicinal plants are still a source of inspiration for the discovery of new treatments of several diseases, including diabetes. The present study was aimed to evaluate the antioxidant and antidiabetic properties of Oxalis pes-caprae flowers extract in alloxan-induced diabetic mice. The phytochemical and antioxidant activities of both aqueous and methanolic extracts were assessed by in-vitro testing such as free radical scavenging assays (DPPH and ABTS+), ferrous ions (Fe2+) chelating activity and reducing power assay. Additionally, the detection of Amadori products and advanced glycation end products was used to determine the antiglycation potential. α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitory assessment was employed to determine the antidiabetic effect, while alloxan-induced diabetic mice were used to measure the in-vivo activities of antioxidants and carbohydrates enzymes. The effect of the methanolic extract on body weight and blood glucose level of extract-treated diabetic mice were also investigated. Among the tested extract, the methanolic extract was the richest in phenolic compounds which is directly related with their remarkable antioxidant, enzyme inhibitory and antiglycation activity. The oral administration of the two doses of Oxalis pes-caprae flowers (150 mg/kg and 250 mg/kg) daily for 3 weeks resulted in hypoglycemic effect compared to the reference drug, glibenclamide (10 mg/kg). Furthermore, the extract was shown to significantly increase the activities of antioxidants and glycolysis enzymes in the liver, kidney and spleen of diabetic mice, compared to diabetic control group. Therefore, Oxalis pes-caprae extract effectively exhibited hypoglycemic and antidiabetic effects as indicated by in-vitro and in-vivo studies, confirming the protective effects on hyperglycemia and oxidative damage.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2023.114393
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