Preparation of bee venom-loaded chitosan nanoparticles for treatment of streptozotocin-induced diabetes in male Sprague Dawley rats

Abstract

Background Diabetes mellitus (DM) can be defned as an increase in the blood sugar level and a disturbance in protein, fat and carbohydrate metabolism. Bee venom (BV) is useful for treating and preventing diabetic rats’ histological and biochemical problems. Although the medical advantages of BV have been identifed, its safety has remained a substantial barrier for its application. Consequently, the goal of our work was to prepare bee venom-loaded chitosan (BV-CS) nanoparticles (NPs), which would then be physically characterized. This was followed by examining the efect of the synthetized BV-CS NPs on oxidation, infammation and coagulation in vitro. In diabetic rats’ model [induced by streptozotocin (STZ)], the produced BV-CS NPs were tested as an anti-diabetic medication. Results In vivo testing on pancreatic tissue homogenates showed that BV-CS NPs have antioxidant and antiinfammatory properties. The results showed that BV-CS NPs can be used as a safe and efcient therapy for diabetes. Up to a concentration of 250 µg/ml, the generated NPs demonstrated potential antioxidant, membrane stabilizing, and non-cytotoxic capabilities. Our fndings indicated that the administration of BV-CS NPs signifcantly controlled blood glucose levels and metabolic abnormalities that accompanied diabetes induction. Conclusions BV-CS NPs were successful in treating STZ-induced diabetes in rats, stimulated insulin secretion and were safe to be used in vivo. Key points 1. BV-CS NPs demonstrated potential in vitro antioxidant and non-cytotoxic capabilities. 2. BV-CS NPs increased insulin secretion and decreased blood sugar level. 3. BV-CS NPs reduced oxidative stress and infammation in vivo.