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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Experimental Pharmacology and Drug Discovery
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1421131
This article is part of the Research Topic Recent Developments in Plant Specialized Metabolite Transporter Research View all 4 articles

Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) leaves exhibit significant antidiabetic potential in alloxan-induced diabetic rats and putative ABC vacuolar transporter for accumulation of Quercetin and Kaempferol

Provisionally accepted
Sara Latif Sara Latif 1Muhammad Sameeullah Muhammad Sameeullah 2Hiffza Qadeer Abbasi Hiffza Qadeer Abbasi 3Zainab Masood Zainab Masood 3Tijen Demiral Sert Tijen Demiral Sert 4Noreen Aslam Noreen Aslam 5Turgay Pekdemir Turgay Pekdemir 2Mustafa Imren Mustafa Imren 6Vahdettin Çiftçi Vahdettin Çiftçi 7Kiran Saba Kiran Saba 8Muhammad Suleman Malik Muhammad Suleman Malik 3Fatima Ijaz Fatima Ijaz 3Neelam Batool Neelam Batool 3Bushra Mirza Bushra Mirza 3Mohammad Tahir Waheed Mohammad Tahir Waheed 3*
  • 1 Department of Biology, The University of Haripur, Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
  • 2 Abant Izzet Baysal University, Bolu, Bolu, Türkiye
  • 3 Department of Biochemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan
  • 4 Department of Biology, Faculty of Engineering, Süleyman Demirel University, Isparta, Isparta, Türkiye
  • 5 Department of Biology, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Bolu, Bolu, Türkiye
  • 6 Department of Plant Protection, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Bolu, Bolu, Türkiye
  • 7 Department of Field Crops, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Bolu, Bolu, Türkiye
  • 8 Department of Biochemistry, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background The global prevalence of diabetes among adults over 18 years of age is expected to increase from 10.5% to 12.2% (between 2021 and 2045). Plants can be a cost-effective source of flavonoids like quercetin and kaempferol with anti-diabetic properties. Methodology We aimed to assess the antidiabetic potential of leaves of Brassica oleracea cvs. Green Sprout and Marathon. Further, flavonoid contents were measured in broccoli leaves grown under light and dark conditions. The methanolic extracts of Green Sprout (GSL-M) and Marathon (ML-M) were first evaluated in vitro for their α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory potential and then for antidiabetic activity in vivo in alloxan-induced diabetic rat models. Results Treatment with plant extracts promoted the reduced glutathione (GSH) content and CAT, POD, and SOD activities in the pancreas, liver, kidney, heart, and brain of diabetic rats, whereas lowered lipid peroxidation, H2O2, and nitrite concentrations. The histopathological studies revealed the protective effect of plant extracts at high dose (300 mg/kg), which could be due to broccoli’s rich content of chlorogenic acid, quercetin, and kaempferol. Strikingly, etiolated leaves of broccoli manifested higher levels of quercetin and kaempferol than green ones. The putative role of an ABC transporter in the accumulation of quercetin and kaempferol in etiolated leaves was observed as evaluated by qRT-PCR and in silico analyses. Conclusion In conclusion, the present study shows a strong link between the antidiabetic potential of broccoli due to the presence of chlorogenic acid, quercetin, and kaempferol and the role of an ABC transporter in their accumulation within the vacuole.

    Keywords: Brassica oleracea, antidiabetic, Alloxan, Antioxidant Enzymes, Lipid Peroxidation, histopathology, Flavonoids, ABC transporter

    Received: 10 May 2024; Accepted: 26 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Latif, Sameeullah, Abbasi, Masood, Demiral Sert, Aslam, Pekdemir, Imren, Çiftçi, Saba, Malik, Ijaz, Batool, Mirza and Waheed. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Mohammad Tahir Waheed, Department of Biochemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, 45320, Islamabad, Pakistan

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