INHIBITORY EFFECT OF THE METHANOL LEAF EXTRACT OF MOMORDICA CHARANTIA ON LIVER MITOCHONDRIAL PERMEABILITY TRANSITION PORE OPENING IN ALLOXAN-INDUCED DIABETIC RATS
Adeola F. Ehigie, *Leonard O. Ehigie, Oludele J. Olanlokun, Faith S. Oyelere, Olubukola T. Oyebode and Olufunso O. Olorunsogo
ABSTRACT
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), the most common of the three types of diabetes (other types being Type 1 and Gestational diabetes) is a metabolic disorder that occurs when the body cannot properly use glucose, the body's main source of fuel. The plant Momordica charantia (MC) of the family Cucubitaceae is a popular medicinal plant most useful as an antidiabetic agent, thus, this work reports the inhibitory effect of varying concentrations (0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0mg/mL) of the methanol leaf extract of MC on mitochondrial membrane permeability transition (MMPT) pore opening in liver mitochondria isolated from alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Opening of the MMPT pore, a critical step in the induction of apoptosis was spectrophotometrically assayed under succinate-energized condition using a modified method of Lapidus and Sokolove (1993). The results obtained revealed that there was a concentration-dependent inhibition of the MMPT pore opening in alloxan-induced diabetic rat liver mitochondria treated with the methanol leaf extract of MC in vitro such that at 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0 mg, 59, 54, 51, 45, 43% inhibitions were respectively observed. The degrees of inhibition seen suggest that the methanol extract is an MMPT pore antagonist; especially at high concentrations and that the inhibition of MPTP is likely one of the mechanisms by which MC inhibits apoptosis of pancreatic ß-cells in Type 2 diabetes.
Keywords: Mitochondrial Permeability Transition Pore, Apoptosis, Momordica charantia, Alloxan, Diabetes.
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