Hyperglycemia exerts toxic effects on the pancreatic beta-cells. This study investigated the hypothesis that the common antidiabetic drugs glibenclamide and metformin, in combination with tualang honey, offer additional protection for the pancreas of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats against oxidative stress and damage. Diabetes was induced in male Sprague Dawley rats by a single dose of STZ (60 mg/kg; ip). Diabetic rats had significantly elevated levels of lipid peroxidation (TBARS), up-regulated activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) while catalase (CAT) activity was significantly reduced. Glibenclamide and metformin produced no significant effects on TBARS and antioxidant enzymes except GPx in diabetic rats. In contrast, the combination of glibenclamide, metformin and honey significantly up-regulated CAT activity and down-regulated GPx activity while TBARS levels were significantly reduced. These findings suggest that tualang honey potentiates the effect of glibenclamide and metformin to protect diabetic rat pancreas against oxidative stress and damage.
Keywords: diabetes mellitus; glibenclamide; metformin; oxidative stress; pancreas; streptozotocin; tualang honey.