The protective effect of green tea on diabetes-induced hepato-renal pathological changes: a histological and biochemical study

Abstract

We investigated the protective effect of green tea on diabetic hepato-renal complications. Thirty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into five equal groups: normal control, diabetic control, glibenclamide-treated, green tea-treated, and combined therapy-treated groups; ethical approval number “BERC-014-01-20.” After eight weeks, animals were sacrificed by CO₂ euthanasia method, liver and kidney tissues were processed and stained for pathological changes, and blood samples were collected for biochemical analysis. Diabetic rats showed multiple hepato-renal morphological and apoptotic changes associated with significantly increased some biochemical parameters, while serum albumin and HDL decreased significantly compared to normal control (p < .05). Monotherapy can induce significant improvements in pathological and biochemical changes but has not been able to achieve normal patterns. In conclusion, green tea alone has a poor hypoglycaemic effect but can reduce diabetic complications, whereas glibenclamide cannot prevent diabetic complications. The addition of green tea to oral hypoglycaemic therapy has shown a potent synergistic effect.

Keywords:

• Diabetes mellitus
• oxidative stress
• green tea
• glibenclamide
• hepato-renal changes

Acknowledgement

This publication was supported by the Deanship of Scientific Research at Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Alkharj, Saudi Arabia.

Disclosure statement

This work was carried out with no conflict of interest. The work has been fully supported financially by the authors.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [TA], upon reasonable request.