Effects of Methanolic Extract of Moringa oleifera on an In Vitro Model of Diabetic Nephropathy

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a severe diabetic complication and a leading cause of chronic kidney disease and renal failure worldwide. The high prevalence of end stage renal disease (ESRD) due to diabetes, coupled with the lack of efficient treatments, prompts the need for newer therapeutic strategies that overcome the drawbacks of the existing ones. In recent years, Moringa oleiferahas been identified as a plant with multiple nutritional and medicinal advantages. Importantly, previous studies have reported antioxidant and anti-hyperglycemic properties of Moringa leaf extracts in diabetic rats. The growing interest in the potential use of nutraceuticals over conventional drugs along with the recent evidence of the beneficial effects of M. oleifera extract led us to investigate the effects of the methanol extract of M. oleifera on an in vitro model of human glomerular epithelial cells (HGEC). HGEC were chronically cultured in the presence of physiological (5mM) or high glucose (25mM) levels and treated with different concentrations of methanolic extract of M. oleifera(MOE). We evaluated the effect of MOE on the production of advanced glycation end-products (AGE), cell viability, and response to oxidative stress. Our results indicate that MOE can effectively inhibit AGE formation in vitro and provide a cytoprotective effect to cells following an oxidative challenge. However, in line with prior data indicating that HGEC chronically exposed to high glucose are primed for apoptosis, these cells showed reduced viability following exposure to MOE compared to cells exposed to normal glucose. These results suggest that acute, high doses of MOE might not be beneficial following chronic exposure of kidney cells to glucose, but the possibility of a protective effect of MOE when administered early is worth exploring.