While the anti-diabetic and antioxidant properties of mistletoe figs (Ficus deltoidea) and vitexin are known, the information on how they affect the pancreas is limited. This study published in the journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine seeks to uncover the mechanisms that make this herbal combination effective against diabetes mellitus (DM).

• Fluctuations in blood glucose levels affect the magnitude of oxidative stress and consequently, the resulting damage caused by DM to the pancreas. Replenishing the number of insulin-producing pancreatic β-cells is a potentially effective treatment for DM.
• Both F. deltoidea and vitexin have been discovered in past studies to have antioxidant and anti-diabetic properties but inquiries into their exact mechanisms are inconclusive.
• The researchers administered vitexin and F. deltoidea extracts to rats with STZ-induced diabetes over a period of eight weeks.
• They measured the animals’ glucose and insulin tolerances through an intraperitoneal glucose (2 g/kg) tolerance test (IPGTT) and an intraperitoneal insulin (0.65 U/kg) tolerance test (IPITT), respectively. They also assessed the rats’ insulin resistance, pancreatic histological changes, fatty acid composition pattern, and the infrared (IR) spectra of both serum and pancreas.
• Both F. deltoidea and vitexin caused increases in the animals’ pancreatic enzymes. Boosted regeneration of the islets of Langerhans was also observed.
• Increased insulin secretion was observed, but only in rats treated with F. deltoidea.

The researchers concluded that F. deltoidea and vitexin could mitigate oxidative damage to the pancreas. They also advocated the pair’s therapeutic potential as a treatment for DM.

Read the full text of this study at this link.

Journal Reference:

Nurdiana S, Goh YM, Ahmad H, Dom SM, Azmi NSA, Zin NSNM, Ebrahimi M. CHANGES IN PANCREATIC HISTOLOGY, INSULIN SECRETION AND OXIDATIVE STATUS IN DIABETIC RATS FOLLOWING TREATMENT WITH FICUS DELTOIDEA AND VITEXIN. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2017;17(1). DOI: 10.1186/s12906-017-1762-8