Effect of Spirulina platensis ingestion on the abnormal biochemical and oxidative stress parameters in the pancreas and liver of alloxan-induced diabetic rats

AbstractContext: Previous studies have shown that Spirulina platensis Gomont (Phormidiaceae) (SP) extract has beneficial effects on many disease conditions. The putative protective effects of SP were investigated in diabetic rats.Objective: The current study investigates the antioxidant effects of SP in diabetic Wistar rats.Materials and methods: Alloxan monohydrate (150 mg/kg body weight) was intraperitoneally administrated to induce diabetes. An aqueous suspension of SP powder in distillate water (10% w/v) was administrated orally by gavage (1 mL/day) for 50 days. Histopathological, biochemical and antioxidant analyses were performed. Glycemia, liver function and HOMA-IR were assessed using Spinreact and ELISA kits.Results: SP exhibited high-antioxidant activity. The IC50 values of the SP aqueous extract were 70.40 and 45.69 mg/L compared to those of the standard antioxidant BHT, which were 27.97 and 19.77 mg/L, for the DPPH and ABTS tests, respectively. The diabetic animals showed a significant increas...