Abstract

POSSIBLE ANTIDIABETIC MECHANISM OF SALACIA OBLONGA IN DIABETIC SMOKERS: IN VITRO INVESTIGATION WITH RINm5F AND L6 CELL LINES

Basu S, Pant M and Rachana*

Abstract

Bidi smoking is the most common form of tobacco smoking in rural India. Tobacco burning during smoking generates tremendous amount of toxic “free radicals” that induce oxidative stress in the body. Antioxidants inhibit free radical generation and have been used against degenerative and inflammatory diseases. The present study investigates the in vitro cytoprotective and antioxidant potential of the methanolicaqueous extract of Salacia oblonga (SOE) in preventing cell death induced by tobacco smoke concentrate (TSC). RINm5f (rat insulinoma cell line) and L6 (rat skeletal muscle cell line) cells were exposed to 0.5 - 5% TSC for 24 hrs. Analysis through MTT assay showed that 0.5% and 1%TSC caused almost 50% cell death. Pre-treatment of both the cell lines with 10 and 15 μg/ml SOE for 3 hrs showed cytoprotective effect against the TSC induced toxicity. Microscopic analysis of the treated and control groups confirmed the above findings. The plant extract showed reductive ability and superoxide radical scavenging activity in cell-free system as well. Thus, our study suggests that the antioxidant potential of SOE might be attributed to the observed cytoprotective role. Further investigations are needed to unveil the mechanism of action of SOE at the molecular level

Keywords: Bidi; tobacco; smoking; Salacia; RINm5f; L6.