KAZEEM MUTIU IDOWU

Biochemistry

At the Biochemistry department office

Appointment on Visitation important

Topic: MEDICAL BIOCHEMISTRY: PHYTOTHERAPEUTICS FOR DIABETES AND METABOLIC DISORDERS

Description: Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by alterations in carbohydrate, fats and protein metabolism that results from defects in insulin secretion or insulin action. The number of people suffering from the disease worldwide is increasing at an alarming rate with a projected 700 million people likely to be diabetic by the year 2045 as against 463 million estimated in 2019. The management of diabetes mellitus is considered a global problem and successful treatment is yet to be discovered. The underlying goal of all diabetes management is to maintain an adequate blood glucose concentration. The main approach used in the management of diabetes is oral hypoglycemic drugs such as biguanides metformin , sulfonylureas glimepiride , thiazolidinediones pioglitazone and alpha-glucosidase inhibitors acarbose . However, these drugs have been shown to have undesirable side effects and high secondary failure rates. In addition, they cannot be afforded by majority of people living in rural communities of developing countries because of their high cost. These limitations of currently available antidiabetic agents have prompted researchers all over the world to investigate alternative antidiabetic remedies. The main thrust of my research is the evaluation of medicinal foods and plants for their antidiabetic potential using both in-vitro and in-vivo methods. The in-vitro technique involves the determination of the inhibitory potentials of plant extracts on the activities of diabetes-related enzymes alpha-amylase, alpha-glucosidase, aldose reductase and sorbitol dehydrogenase . The in-vivo method encompasses the use of animals e.g Wistar rats in the evaluation of the possible antidiabetic properties of the medicinal plants.

#	Certificate	School	Year
1.	Ph.D (Biochemistry)	University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria	2012

MOLECULAR BASIS FOR THE ANTIDIABETIC ACTION OF AGERATUM CONYZOIDES AND MORINDA LUCIDA LEAVES IN STREPTOZOTOCIN-INDUCED DIABETIC RATS

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus is a non-communicable and metabolic disorder that affects all groups of people old, young, male, and female, and requires continuous management. The World Health Organization reported that medicinal plants are veritable sources of drugs for managing several diseases. Ageratum conyzoides and Morinda lucida are used to treat Diabetes mellitus and some studies have validated this. However, there is no information on the possible mechanisms of antidiabetic actions of plants. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this research work is to investigate the possible biochemical mechanisms behind the antidiabetic actions of Ageratum conyzoides and Morinda lucida leaves. METHODS: The influence of oral delivery of extracts of both plants will be evaluated using streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats while glibenclamide will be used as a reference drug. Following treatment for 28 days, the animals will be sacrificed and the blood collected will be used to estimate biochemical parameters glucose, HbA1c, C-peptide and insulin . The livers will be excised, cleaned, homogenized, and used to determine the activities of hepatic glycolytic and gluconeogenic enzymes while another portion will be used to assess the expression of proteins involved in insulin signaling and glucose uptake. The integrity of the pancreases will also be checked through histopathological techniques. CONCLUSION: Findings from this study will provide novel and important information on the possible mechanisms of antidiabetic action of the plants, which will enhance further study on their exploration as future antidiabetic agents.

KAZEEM IDOWU is a Associate Professor / Reader at the Department of Biochemistry

KAZEEM has a Ph.D in Biochemistry from University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria