Protective effect of a polysaccharide from Dipsacus asper Wall on streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic nephropathy in rat

The effects of a polysaccharide (DAP) from the roots of Dipsacus asper on renal complication in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats were investigated in the present study. Administration of DAP (100 and 300 mg/kg) for 4 weeks significantly decreased the fasting blood glucose (FBG) and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels, but increase the body weight of STZ-induced diabetic rats. Increased kidney weight index, serum creatinine (Scr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), urine protein, and urinary albumin excretion (UAE) levels along with decreased creatinine clearance (Ccr) were nearly reversed to the normal levels by DAP. Moreover, DAP was able to normalize hyperlipidemia, improve oxidative stress, and down-regulate the formation of advanced glycation end products-receptor for advanced glycation end products (AGE-RAGE). In conclusion, our work demonstrates the preventive effect of DAP was achieved via antihyperglycemic, hypolipidemic, and antioxidant activity along with inhibition of AGE accumulation and RAGE expression in STZ-treated diabetic rats.