Abstract:
Mitochondria dysfunction is one of the clinical features of diabetes mellitus (DM), which is a hallmark of
insulin resistance (IR).This study investigates the therapeutic effect of M. charantia silver nanoparticles on
mitochondria biogenesis in diabetic-induced rats. The methanolic extracts of the leaves was obtained by
soaking of 250mg of the powdered sample into methanol for 72 hours. The Filtrate from the methanolic
extract was added to 1mM concentration of aqueous silver nitrate solution at ration 1:9 (v/v). The resulting
solution was left for 24 hrs and the nanoparticle was freezed dried and stored at room temperature to enhance
stability. Forty seven adult wistar rats were grouped as follows: STZ (65 mg/kg), control group, STZ (65
mg/kg) + silver nitrate (10 mg/kg), STZ (65 mg/kg) + M. charantia silver nanoparticles (50 mg/kg), STZ (65
mg/kg) + metformin (100 mg/kg), and STZ (65 mg/kg) + M. charantia aqueous extract (100 mg/kg). DM was
induced intraperitoneal using freshly prepared solution of STZ (65 mg/kg), and rats with fasting blood sugar
(FBS) above 200mg/dl after 72 h of induction were considered diabetic. Treatment started after the third day
of induction and lasted for 11 days. Effect of M. charantia silver nanoparticles on glucose level and
expression of genes involved in mitochondria biogenesis(PGC-1α, AMPK, GSK-3β,
PPARϒ),inflammation(IL-1B, TNFα)and glucose sensitivity(PI3K, AKT, PTEN Insulin and Glut2) were
quantified using reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).The results showed that M.
charantia silver nanoparticles promote mitochondria biogenesis, glucose sensitivity and reverse inflammation
in the pancreas of diabetes rat model through upregulation of pgc-1α, AMPK, PPARϒ, AKT, Insulin and
Glut2 mRNA expression and downregulation of GSK-3β, PI3K, IL-1B and TNFα mRNA expression in the
pancreas of diabetic rats. This study thus concludes that M. charantia silver nanoparticles may provide
effective therapeutics against mitochondria dysfunction in the pancreas of diabetic rat.
