Effects of okra extract on serum uric acid and renal function in type 2 diabetes mellitus rats

Objective: To investigate the effects of okra extract on serum uric acid and renal function in type 2 diabetes mellitus ( T2DM) rats.Methods: 72 male Sprague-Dawley ( SD) rats were randomly divided into normal control group ( 8 rats) and T2 DM model group ( 64 rats) , fed with lab chow diet and high-sugar and high-fat diet respectively for four weeks. Then the rats in T2 DM model group were injected with streptozocin ( STZ) intraperitoneally to establish T2 DM animal model. The successful model rats were further assigned into T2 DM model, positive control ( Jiang-tangning gavage, 0.64 g/kg·d-1) , low, medium and high dose of okra extract groups ( okra extract at the dosages of 0.78, 1.56 g and 2.60 g per kilograms of body weight was added into the high-sugar and high-fat diet taken by the rats) . Administered four weeks, the urine samples were collected and the kidneys of the rats were dissected for evaluating the kidney index. Serum uric acid ( SUA) , serum creatinine ( SCr) and blood urea nitrogen ( BUN) were measured. Results: Compared with diabetic model group, the level of SUA in high dosage of okra extract group was significantly decreased ( p < 0.05) , but the significant difference was not found in serum SCr and BUN between okra extract intervention groups ( p > 0.05) . Conclusion: Okra extract may mitigate the level of SUA at a appropriate dosage in T2 DM rats, the protective effect on renal function needs to be explored in the further researches.