Stevia rebaudiana loaded titanium oxide nanomaterials as an antidiabetic agent in rats

Abstract

Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) Bertoni, Asteraceae, is a plant with hypoglycemic and antihyperlipidemicproperties. S. rebaudiana (SrB) has become a lead candidate for the treatment of the diabetes melli-tus. However, chronic administrations of S. rebaudiana are required to cause the normoglycemic effect.Importantly, nanomaterials in general and titanium dioxide (TiO2) in particular have become effectivetools for drug delivery. In this work, we obtained TiO2nanomaterials with SrB at different concentra-tions (10, 20 and 30 μM) by sol–gel method. After this nanomaterials were characterized by Fouriertransform infrared spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Where it was demonstrated, thepresence of the S. rebaudiana in TiO2nanomaterials, which were observed as hemispherical agglomeratedparticles of different sizes. The nanomaterials were evaluated in male rats whose diabetes mellitus-phenotype was induced by alloxan (200 mg/kg, i.p.). The co-administration of TiO2-SrB (20 and 30 μM)induced a significant and permanent decrease in the glucose concentration since 4 h, until 30 dayspost-administration. Likewise, the concentrations of insulin, glycosylated hemoglobin, cholesterol, andtriacylglycerides showed a significant recovery to basal levels. The major finding of the study was thatthe TiO2-SrB (20 and 30 μM) has a potent and prolonged activity antidiabetic. TiO2can be considered likean appropriated vehicle in the continuous freeing of active substances to treat of diabetes mellitus.