Scientific African 10 (2020) e00619 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Scientific African journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/sciaf The lyophilized aqueous leaf extract of Moringa oleifera blunts streptozocin-induced diabetes in rats through upregulation of GLUT 4 signaling pathway and anti-oxidant effect Adeolu Alex Adedapo a,∗ , Iyanuoluwa Omolola Ogunmiluyi a , Olufunke Olubunmi Falayi a , Blessing Seun Ogunpolu a , Ademola Adetokunbo Oyagbemi a , Abayomi Orishadipe b , Temidayo Olutayo Omobowale a , Momoh Audu Yakubu c , Oluwafemi Omoniyi Oguntibeju d a Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria b Sheda Science and Technology Complex (SHESTCO) Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, Sheda, Abuja, Nigeria c Department of Department of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Texas Southern University, Houston, TX 77074, US d Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Bellsville, South Africa a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 28 May 2020 Revised 12 October 2020 Accepted 28 October 2020 Keywords: Diabetes Moringa oleifera GLUT 4 Glucose Anti-oxidant a b s t r a c t The anti-diabetic property of aqueous leaf extract of Moringa oleifera was performed in streptozocin-induced diabetic rats using serum chemistry, histology and immunochemical parameters as indices of diabetes. The blood glucose level of the diabetic untreated group continues to increase while that of the treated group after 21 days decreased. While the animals in the diabetic untreated group experienced increase in the levels of markers of organ damage when compared to the control group (P values < 0.0001). ALT increased from 61.83±1.5 to 96.1±22.4, AST was 225.1±26.6 from 172.6±13.9, ALP 13.5±0.006 to 13.6±0.002, UREA 1.0±0.08 to 3.0±0.4, their reduction was observed in the extract-treated groups. ALT reduced from 96.1±22.4 to 73.70±9.7; AST from 225.1±26.6 to 184.4±18.2; ALP from 13.6±0.002 to 13.6±0.01; UREA from 3.0±0.4 to 2.0±0.4. Treatment with the extract significantly reduced markers of oxidative stress in the kidney [hydrogen per- oxide (898.8±6.26 to 688.0±13.7), malondialdehyde (640±0.1 to 600±0.2) and protein carbonyl (548.4±1.5 to 458.1±1.6)]; heart [hydrogen peroxide (389.4±1.8 to 358.2±1.5), malondialdehyde (264.0±0.5 to 122.0±0.3), protein carbonyl (196.8±0.5 to 162.7±3.5)]; and liver [hydrogen peroxide (119.36±3.2 to 103.94±10.7), malondialdehyde (236.0±0.4 to 73.0±0.2), protein carbonyl (269.3±1.0 to 174.2±1.1) respectively. The levels of antioxi- dants were reduced in the diabetic untreated group but there was increase in the Moringa treated group. Glucose transporter 4 (GLUT 4) was down regulated in the diabetic un- treated group while it was well expressed in the treated groups. The histology of pancreas and liver showed varied levels of infiltration of inflammatory cells, congestion and necrotic lesions, but these were mild in the treated groups. The result shows that the extract does have an anti-diabetic effect with the decrease in the levels of blood glucose and markers of oxidative stress as well as increase in the amount of antioxidants in the treated group ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail address: adedapo2a@gmail.com (A.A. Adedapo). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sciaf.2020.e00619 2468-2276/© 2020 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of African Institute of Mathematical Sciences / Next Einstein Initiative. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)