Research Article Efficacy of Composite Extract from Leaves and Fruits of Medicinal Plants Used in Traditional Diabetic Therapy against Oxidative Stress in Alloxan-Induced Diabetic Rats Brahm Kumar Tiwari, 1 Dileep Kumar, 2 A. B. Abidi, 1 and Syed Ibrahim Rizvi 2 1 Department of Biochemistry & Biochemical Engineering, Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Allahabad 211007, India 2 Department of Biochemistry, University of Allahabad, Allahabad 211002, India Correspondence should be addressed to Syed Ibrahim Rizvi; sirizvi@gmail.com Received 13 November 2013; Accepted 8 January 2014; Published 4 March 2014 Academic Editors: R. Couture, G. Gervasini, M. Labieniec, and S. Tsuruoka Copyright © 2014 Brahm Kumar Tiwari et al. his is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Oxidative stress plays a vital role in diabetic complications. To suppress the oxidative stress mediated damage in diabetic pathophysiology, a special focus has been given on composite extract (CE) and making small dose of naturally occurring antidiabetic plants leaf and fruits. he aim of the present study was to evaluate the beneicial role of CE against alloxan- (ALX-) induced diabetes of Wistar strain rats. A dose-dependent study for CE (25, 50, and 100 mg/kg body weight) was carried out to ind the efective dose of the composite compound in ALX-induced diabetic rats. ALX exposure elevated the blood glucose, plasma advanced oxidation product (AOPP), sialic acid demonstrating disturbed antioxidant status.CE at a dose of 100 mg/kg body weight restored/minimised these alterations towards normal values. In conclusion, small dose of CE possesses the capability of ameliorating the oxidative stress in ALX-induced diabetes and thus could be a promising approach in lessening diabetic complications. 1. Introduction Diabetes mellitus is a syndrome characterized by chronic hyperglycemia and associated with absolute or relative dei- ciency in insulin secretion or insulin action [1]. Herbal medicine has been used as an antidiabetic therapy alone, along with insulin or other synthetic oral hypoglycemic agents. he use of synthetic agents is frequently associated with several undesirable side efects and fails to correct the fundamental biochemical lesion and diabetic complications [2]. he search for a cure for diabetes mellitus continues along with traditional and alternative medicine. Many herbal supplements have been used for the treatment of diabetes, but the scientiic evidence to support their efectiveness has only been investigated for a few [3]. To suppress the oxidative stress mediated damage in diabetic pathophysiology, researchers usually look for naturally occurring antioxidants [4, 5]. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is strongly associated with oxidative stress [6]. Chronic hyperglycemia resulting from diabetes brings about a rise in oxidative stress due to overproduction of reactive oxy- gen species (ROS) as a result of glucose-autoxidation and protein glycosylation. Generation of ROS leads to oxidative damage of the structural components (such as lipids, DNA and proteins) of cells which culminate into complications afecting the eyes, kidney, nerves, and blood vessels [7]. Oxidative insult in cells is also created by the impairment in functioning of endogenous antioxidant enzymes because of nonenzymatic glycosylation and oxidation [8]. Aegle marmelos is a medium-sized deciduous tree found in dry forests and is also cultivated throughout India. Aque- ous leaf extract of Aegle marmelos has been shown to improve the functional state of pancreatic cells in streptozotocin- induced diabetic rats. Antihyperglycaemic activity of Aegle marmelos is reported for leaf extract in glucose fed hyper- glycaemic rats [9]. Oral administration of leaves of plant at 5 g/day signiicantly ameliorates blood glucose level in non insulin dependent diabetes mellitus patients [10]. Azadirachta Hindawi Publishing Corporation ISRN Pharmacology Volume 2014, Article ID 608590, 7 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/608590