Elevated serum sialic acids, a potent biomarker of alloxan-induced type 1 diabetes in dogs by ethanolic extract of .

Objectives: This study investigated serum sialic acids for a predictive and diagnostic biomarker of diabetes mellitus (DM) in dogs and its prognostic value with ethanolic extract of .

Design: Four groups of 3 dogs were used; non-diabetic controls (ND), diabetic-untreated (DU), diabetic insulin-treated (DI) and diabetic extract-treated (DE). Free serum sialic acids (FSSA) and erythrocyte surface sialic acids (ESSA) were assayed in all groups, pre-and post-induction of hyperglycaemia and results were presented as means ± standard error of means (SEM) and subjected to ANOVA using Tukey's post-hoc tests with GraphPad Prism® statistical package.

Results: FSSA increased in DU and plateaued at third week (61.8 ± 0.41 μg/ml), ( < 0.002) with additional 38.2 μg/ml (62%) generated, coinciding with hyperglycaemia. FSSA of DI increased but declined to 22.3 ± 1.55 μg/ml. Extract of effectively modulated FSSA in DE as increased value declined to 21.4 ± 0.78 μg/ml. Pre-induction DU ESSA (8.27 ± 0.11 μg/ml) significantly ( < 0.002) decreased by third week (2.33 ± 1.49 μg/ml), coinciding with hyperglycaemia. Strong negative correlation coefficient (r = -0.92) occurred between DU's FSSA and ESSA and ND ( < 0.03). Sialic acid expression in dog's insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is 18% lower than normal. Extract of restored ESSA completely. ESSA cleaved in DU, 5.94 μg/ml (72%), could not account for the extra FSSA (32.26 μg/ml); liver and kidneys are contributors.

Conclusion: FSSA predicts canine DM.