Antidiabetic effect, antioxidant activity, and toxicity of 3′,4′-Di-O-acetyl-cis-khellactone in Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Pyranocoumarins are compounds with an important pharmacological profile, such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, cytotoxic, antiviral, antibacterial, and hypoglycemic effects. These molecules have a widespread presence as secondary metabolites in medicinal plants used to treat Diabetes Mellitus (DM). The aim of this work was to evaluate antidiabetic activity in Streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats and the antioxidant effects of 3′,4′-Di-O-acetyl-cis-khellactone (DOAcK), as well as its toxic potential. We obtained DOAcK with an enantiomeric excess of 70% by chemical synthesis. Our results showed that this compound exerts an important antidiabetic effect: blood glucose decreased in groups treated with DOAcK by 60.9% at dose of 15 mg/kg (p <0.05) compared with the diabetic control group, and demonstrated a statistically significant increase in weight gain (45.7 ± 9.7 in the group treated with DOAcK vs. −23.0 ± 33.1 in the group with diabetes). In a biochemical profile, DOAcK did not modify lipid metabolism and did not cause damage at the renal level. DOAcK administration increased the activities of Catalase (CAT), Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx), and Super Oxide Dismutase (SOD) to levels near those of the healthy group. Histopathological analysis exhibited morphology similar to that of the healthy group and the group treated with DOAcK. DOAcK is not mutagenic by Ames test for Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98, TA100, or TA102, and is not genotoxic by Micronucleus assay; median lethal dose (LD₅₀) >2000 mg/kg and, at this dose, no signs of toxicity or death were reported after 14 days of observation. These results indicate that DOAcK can improve glucose metabolism, which may be due to the increased antioxidant activity of CAT, GPx and SOD. In addition, DOAcK is not toxic in the studies tested.