Orally administered acarbose-guar gum solid dispersion mitigates diabetes-induced kidney damage via modulating inflammatory response and oxidative stress in diabetic rats.

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus can cause progressive renal injury characterised by oxidative stress, inflammation and impaired renal function. This study investigated the kidney- and cell-protective potential of acarbose-guar gum solid dispersions (AGSDs) using in vitro and in vivo diabetic models. In BHK-21 cells, AGSD-3 showed improved biocompatibility, with higher cell viability (65.54 ± 0.41%) than acarbose (56.67 ± 0.24%) and reduced lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release (7.29 ± 0.13%) at 100 µg/mL. Under high-glucose conditions, AGSD-3 significantly reduced lipid peroxidation and enhanced superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities (p < 0.001). In diabetic rats, AGSD-3 (50 mg/kg) significantly improved renal function, reducing serum creatinine, urea and uric acid to 0.45 ± 0.02, 36.00 ± 0.96 and 2.00 ± 0.02 mg/dL, respectively, and normalised relative kidney weight. Histopathological findings further supported restoration of renal architecture. AGSD-3 enhanced renal antioxidant status, with increased SOD, catalase and GST activities, while reducing nitric oxide, xanthine oxidase and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activities (p < 0.001). Furthermore, AGSD-3 reduced TNF-α and IL-6 while increasing IL-10 levels. Overall, AGSD-3 exhibited antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and renoprotective effects, supporting its potential as an improved acarbose-based formulation for diabetes-associated renal injury.