Potential Therapeutic Activity of Mango (Mangifera indica L.) Leaves on Excess Consumption of Fructose in Rats

Background and Objective: High fructose consumption has increased worldwide. It causes various metabolic, genetic and histologic alterations. Alternative medicine, primarily herbal plants, has been proposed to alleviate the negative effects of high fructose consumption. The main objective of this study was to explore the efficacy of supplementation or treatment with mango leaves against high fructose induced alterations in male rats.

Methodology: Mango leaves nutritional and active components were determined. A total of sixty male adult rats were used in this study. Fifteen rats were kept as healthy (negative control group; rats fed on balanced diet) while in others metabolic alterations were induced by consumption of high fructose diet ad libitum. Rats fed on high fructose diet were splited into 3 groups (15 rats in each), one group set as positive control group; rats fed on high fructose diet only and the other 2 groups; mango treated group; rats fed on high fructose diet until induction of hyperglycemia (one month and half) then fed on high fructose diet with replacement of fiber with 5% mango leaves and mango supplemented group; rats fed on high fructose diet with 5% mango leaves replacing fiber.

Results: Mango leaves contain significant amounts of crude protein, crude fat, carbohydrates, crude fiber, ash, total flavonoids and polyphenols that controlled and corrected the following high fructose consumption results. Consumption of high fructose diet significantly (p≤0.05) increased final body weight (FBW), body weight gain (BWG), abdominal circumference (AC), Lee index and body mass index (BMI). High fructose also significantly (p≤0.05) increased levels of systolic blood pressure (SBP), serum triacylglycerol (TAG), total cholesterol (TC), fasting blood glucose, insulin, homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), serum tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), leptin, malondialdehyde (MDA), advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and adipocyte size as well as blood histone deacetylase (HDAC) enzyme activity. High fructose consumption contrarily caused significant decrease (p≤0.05) in levels of quantitative insulin check index of insulin sensitivity (QUICKI), adiponectin, muscular insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) and glucose transporter-4 (GLUT-4) gene expression as well as blood reduced glutathione (GSH). Furthermore, microscopic examinations of the pancreatic and adipose tissues corroborated the biochemical findings.

Conclusion: Mango leaves are a cheap source of macro and micronutrients as well as active constituents. By limiting metabolic and genetic abnormalities caused by high fructose consumption, either mango leaf supplementation or therapy improved and ameliorated all biochemical and microscopic data. The mango leaves supplemented group showed the most improvement.