Evaluation of Renal Function of Streptozotocin (STZ)-Induced Diabetic Albino Rats Treated with Syzygium aromaticum (Clove)

Abstract

Diabetes a chronic disorder of carbohydrate, fats and protein metabolism that is characterized by increasing levels of fasting and post prandial blood sugar. Syzygium aromaticum is a medicinal plant and well-utilized spice in the world. They are packed with essential vitamins, minerals and other nutrients essential for the body, eugenol being the most active ingredient.  This study was designed to evaluate the effect of low and high doses of Syzygium aromaticum on the renal function of diabetic albino rats and to ascertain its LD50. Thirty five male Wister rats with weight between 145 to 150g were equally divided into seven groups. The first group served as Negative control (group 1). The second group was the Positive control (Diabetic group). The remaining five groups were the treatment groups (3-7). Diabetes was induced intraperitoneally with 65mg/kg of streptozotocin (STZ) single dose. Group 3 (Diabetic group) treated with metformin (100mg/kg); Group 4 (Diabetic group) treated with low dose clove (250mg/kg). Group 5 (Diabetic group) treated with low dose clove and metformin; Group 6 (Diabetic group) treated with high dose clove (750mg/kg) and metformin for about six weeks. Blood samples were collected via cardiac puncture in appropriate heparinized and plain bottles for standard laboratory investigations for urea and creatinine. Plasma urea and creatinine was determined using enzymatic end point method under standard operating procedures. Statistical analysis was done using Graph Pad Prism Version 5.0. Results revealed that the STZ-induced diabetic group exhibited highly significant increase in the levels of urea and creatinine compared to the negative control group (p<0.0001) and treatment groups. Histopathological examination of kidney tissues of diabetic rats indicated morphological changes. However, their changes were overcome by clove treatment and the majority of the cells tend to be normal. Low dose clove group 5 (250mg/kg) with metformin decreased the levels of the analytes most when compared to the levels of the positive control group. For urea, group 5 gave a mean urea level of 4.25 ± 0.77 most highly significantly decreased from the control group 2 with mean urea level 23.80 ± 3.56  at  p < 0.0001 thereby yielding a better treatment result. In conclusion, low dose clove supplementation with metformin could be excellent adjuvant support in the therapy of diabetes mellitus and its complications.