The Protective Effects of a Phenolic Clove Extract on Mitochondria: An Animal Study

Background: Plants represent a treasure chest with many unrevealed medical applications that have made them traditionally used for thousands of years to treat different diseases. One of these applications is the hypoglycemic and antioxidant roles of some plants. A pathological condition characterized by hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia known as metabolic syndrome. Objectives: This work focuses on examining the hypoglycemic effect of Syzygium aromaticum on a metabolic syndrome-induced animal model and studying the role of the extracted phenolic compounds on different mitochondrial function genomic parameters. Methods: Sánchez-Rangel et al. (2013) described the extraction and quantification of phenolic components from Syzygium aromaticum using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent. In this work, forty albino rats were involved. They were split up into the following four groups, each consisting of five animals: Syzygium aromaticum treatment for metabolic syndrome, non-metabolic syndrome animals treated with Syzygium aromaticum, and negative control (normal), positive control (metabolic syndrome produced with fructose without treatment). Serum glucose, pyruvate, lactate, lipid profile, liver function tests, and molar lactate/pyruvate ratio. Green and red mitotrackers are used to measure the mass and action potential of mitochondria. Results: According to the study's findings, clove extract dramatically lowers blood sugar levels in rats with metabolic syndrome. The plants return serum lactate, pyruvate, and molar lactate: pyruvate ratio to normal control negative values. Mitochondrial mass and action potential significantly improve after treatment. In comparison to metabolic syndrome animals, the mitochondrial copy number of peripheral blood cells significantly increases after treatment with the plant extract. Conclusion: Metabolic syndrome significantly reduces mitochondrial genome copies number. The application of the phenolic extract of Syzygium aromaticum.