Beneficiary Effect of Tinospora cordifolia Against High-fructose Diet Induced Abnormalities in Carbohydrate and Lipid Metabolism in Wistar Rats

High intake of dietary fructose has been shown to exert a number of adverse metabolic effects in humans and experimental animals. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of the aqueous extract of Tinospora cordifolia stem (TCAE) on the adverse effects of fructose loading toward carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in rats. Adult male Wistar rats of body weight around 200g were divided into four groups, two of which were fed with starch diet and the other two with high fructose (66%) diet. Plant extract of TC (400 mg/kg/day) was administered orally to each group of the starch fed rats and the high-fructose fed rats. At the end of 60 days of experimental period, biochemical parameters related to carbohydrate and lipid metabolism were assayed. Hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, hypertriglyceridemia, insulin resistance, and elevated levels of hepatic total lipids, cholesterol, triglycerides, and free fatty acids (p<0.05) observed in fructose-fed rats were completely prevented with TCAE treatment. Alterations in the activities of enzymes of glucose metabolism (hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, pyruvate kinase, glucose-6-phosphatase, fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase) and lipid metabolism (fatty acid synthetase, lipoprotein lipase, and malic enzyme) as observed in the high fructose-fed rats were prevented with TCAE administration. In conclusion, our findings indicate improvement of glucose and lipid metabolism in high-fructose fed rats by treatment with Tinospora cordifolia, and suggest that the plant can be used as an adjuvant for the prevention and/or management of insulin resistance and disorders related to it.