Effect of Glibenclamide alone versus Glibenclamide and Honey on Oxidative Stress in Pancreas of Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

Summary: Diabetes mellitus is a public health problem with increasing global prevalence. In spite of its management, both microvascular and macrovascular complications partly linked to oxidative stress are not efficiently prevented. This study compared the effect of glibenclamide alone with that of combined glibenclamide and honey on pancreatic oxidative stress in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced by streptozotocin (60 mg/kg; ip). Rats were randomly divided into four groups and treated as follows: non-diabetic rats received distilled water (0.5ml/day), diabetic rats administered distilled water (0.5ml/day), glibenclamide (600 μg/kg/day) or a combination of glibenclamide (600 μg/kg/day) and honey (1.0 g/kg/day). The animals were treated orally once daily for four weeks. Fasting blood glucose was significantly increased in diabetic rats. The diabetic pancreas showed increased levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced activity of catalase (CAT) and increased activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). Treatment of diabetic rats with glibenclamide reduced hyperglycemia but produced no significant effects on the MDA levels, activities of SOD, GPx, and CAT. In contrast, the pancreas of diabetic rats that received combination of glibenclamide and honey showed increased CAT activity, reduced MDA levels and GPx activity while blood glucose was also reduced. The results of glibenclamide alone suggest that decreased hyperglycemia does not necessarily translate to reduced oxidative stress. These data demonstrate the beneficial effects of combining honey with glibenclamide on oxidative stress parameters in pancreas of diabetic rats. Industrial relevance: Diabetes mellitus is one of the five leading causes of death globally. The increasing prevalence of this disorder not only poses severe medical implications but also has financial consequences due to the costs of managing this disorder and its associated complications. Considering that diabetes mellitus is a heterogeneous disorder with multiple causes, the combination of therapeutic agents aimed at specific patho-biological pathways of diabetes and its complications may result in a better and more effective management of this disorder. Even though the currently available drugs may be valuable in the management of diabetes mellitus, these drugs have limitations due to undesirable adverse effects such as hypoglycemia, weight gain, secondary failure, and inability to arrest pancreas degeneration or diabetic complications which have been linked to oxidative stress