Hypoglycemic and Antioxidant Effects of Subcoriacin in Normal and Streptozotocin-induced Diabetic Rats

subcoriacin (1) is a 3-aryl-6-prenylcoumarin isolated from eysenhardtia subcoriacea that has shown antioxidant activity in vitro, and has shown to scavenge free radicals and also to improve the reduced glutathione levels in pancreatic homogenates. the present investigation evaluates the protective effect of 1 against oxidative injury in normal and streptozotocin (stz)-induced diabetic rats. the i.p. administration of 1 at a dose of 100 mg/kg body weight for 5 d, significantly decreased blood glucose levels and improved the endogenous antioxidant system. also, a significant increase in the activities of the antioxidant enzymes glutathione peroxidase (gshpx), superoxide dismutase (sod) and catalase (cat) occurred. combined treatment of rats with 1 (100 mg/kg) and stz significantly reduced the pancreatic levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (tbars) levels. likewise, significant increases in the activities of the antioxidant enzymes together with a decrease in blood glucose levels in both treatments were observed. the results demonstrate and support the relationship between the hypoglycemic and antioxidant activities displayed by the natural compound 1.