Evaluation of the Antioxidant and Anti-Diabetic effects of Baicalin in Type 2 Diabetic Goto Kakizaki (GK) rats

Oxidative stress, claimed to be triggered directly by hyperglycemia, is increased in Type 2 diabetes and is the root cause of many diabetic complications. Numerous studies have shown that current treatments with Western drugs do not eradicate the probability of developing complications. In this study, Goto-Kakizaki (GK) type 2 diabetic rat models were used to look into the effect of combining the anti-diabetic drug, metformin, with baicalin, a compound from Scutellaria baicalensis, which is recognized for its radical scavenging ability. Three groups of GK rats were given the following treatments orally for 30 days:

(1) Metformin 500mg/kg, (2) Baicalin 120mg/kg, (3) Metformin 500mg/kg + Baicalin 120mg/kg. Vehicle-treated diabetic controls were also used to obtain data for comparison. The rats in both baicalin and combined treatment groups had elevated superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) antioxidant enzyme activities compared to the diabetic control (p<0.05).

In addition, combined treatment caused noteworthy increase in pancreatic insulin levels and declines in plasma triglycerides (TG) and cholesterol (TC) levels as well as glucose concentrations. The study thus demonstrated the potential ability of baicalin to enhance the antidiabetic effect of metformin as well as reduce oxidative stress when used alone or in combination with metformin.