Antioxidant effects of Artemis sphaerocephala Krasch. gum, on streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetic rats

Since ancient times, practicians of traditional Chinese medicine have discovered that Artemis sphaerocephala Krasch. (Compositae) seed was useful for the treatment of diabetes. A. sphaerocephala Krasch. gum (ASK gum) is the water extract from the seed powder of the plant and has been used as a novel food additive by the food industry in China. The objective of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant function of ASK gum on type 2 diabetes using Streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetic Sprague–Dawleys rats as an animal model; the antioxidant property of ASK gum was measured by the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), and radical dotOH, in liver and serum respectively. Normal rats and diabetic rats treated with metformin were used as the negative and positive control respectively. The results showed that a high-fat diet in combination with a low-dose Streptozotocin injection successfully induced type 2 diabetes among the experiment rats. The addition of ASK gum to the high-fat diet fed to the diabetic rats significantly increased their liver and serum SOD activities, however, the MDA and radical dotOH levels in both liver and serum were significantly reduced. In addition, ASK gum markedly lessened the oxidative damage of kidney in the diabetic rats. A dose-dependent was observed between the measured biological parameters and the amount of ASK gum added. ASK gum at a level of 2.7% provided a similar protective effect to the diabetic rats as metformin.