Protective Effect of Buckwheat Polysaccharide on Streptozotocin-Induced Kidney Injury in Diabetic Rats and the Possible Mechanism

We intend to explore the mechanism underlying the effect of Buckwheat polysaccharide on kidney damage in diabetics. In this study, rats received 5 week-STZ injection to induce type 2 diabetes and then were administered with 8-week buckwheat polysaccharide followed by analysis of the diabetes-index and kidney histopathological changes by immunohistochemistry and ELISA as well as the expression of kidney Col IV, Akt, TGF- β 1, FN, FoxO1 and MnSOD by western blot and RT-qPCR. Diabetic nephropathy rats exhibited significantly increased blood glucose, kidney body mass index, Scr and glomerular mesangial index, with thickened glomerular basement membrane, and elevated BUN and urinary albumin excretion. Besides, podocyte was fused as demonstrated by significantly decreased expression of renal TGF- β 1, FN, Col IV mRNA and renal MnSOD mRNA. In conclusion, Buckwheat polysaccharides significantly alleviate kidney injury in diabetes possibly through regulation of FoxO1/MnSOD axis.