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Abstract
Context: Smallanthus sonchifolius (Poepp. and Endl.) H. Robinson, Asteraceae (yacon) roots are a natural product recognized by the traditional medicine to treat diabetes-related problems. There are no reports concerning the potential of yacon roots to reduce oxidative stress and ameliorate diabetes complications in diabetic animals.
Objective: This work analyzes the in vivo antioxidant activity and beneficial effects of yacon roots, using a model of streptozotocin-induced diabetes in rats.
Materials and methods: Lipid peroxidation and other indicators of oxidative stress were determined in liver and kidney homogenates from non-diabetic rats, untreated diabetic rats, and diabetic rats treated orally with yacon flour (340 mg fructooligosaccharide/kg/d) as a diet supplement for 90 d. Biochemical parameters were determined in liver, kidney, and blood at the end of the experimental period.
Results: Yacon supplementation to diabetic rats produced a significant decrease in malondialdehyde levels in both liver (−30.97%) and kidney (−19.15%). Hepatic superoxide dismutase and catalase activities were significantly lower in diabetic-treated rats (−13.46 and −64.33%, respectively) compared with diabetic controls. Similar results were observed in kidney. The treatment of diabetic rats produced an increase of glutathione peroxidase and glutathione levels in liver (172.50 and 35.91%, respectively) and kidney (177.78 and 57.76%, respectively). Plasma cholesterol and triacylglycerol levels and liver fatty acid composition, which were altered in diabetic rats, reverted back to nearly normal with yacon treatment.
Conclusions: These results indicate that yacon root flour is a potential diet supplement with high in vivo antioxidant activity.
Acknowledgements
We wish to thank Dr. César A. Catalán for his assistance with the chemical analyses of fatty composition in liver homogenates. We are also grateful to Dr. Alfredo Grau, Regional Ecology Institute, U.N.T. (Argentina) for the supply of yacon roots.
Declaration of interest
The authors report that there are no declarations of interest.