Antioxidant Activity and Cardioprotective Potential of a Nanoemulsion Mix of Rosmarinus officinalis and Centella asiatica in Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Zebrafish Larvae Model

Hyperglycemia affects approximately 16.7% of pregnancies worldwide, with gestationaldiabetes mellitus (GDM) accounting for nearly 84% of these cases. GDM, characterizedby glucose intolerance during pregnancy, presents significant health risks. Rosmarinusofficinalis (RO) and Centella asiatica (CA) are known for their antidiabetic andantioxidant properties, including the ability to enhance insulin secretion and inhibitphosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) expression in the gluconeogenesis pathway.This study aims to assess the impact of a nanoemulsion of RO and CA combination (ROCA) on heart rate, superoxide dismutase (SOD), nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor2a (Nrf2a), sirtuin 1 (SIRT-1), and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) expression in zebrafishlarvae model of GDM. GDM was induced by exposure of zebrafish embryo to a 3%glucose solution in an embryonic medium. The GDM phenotype was confirmed byelevated PEPCK expression as a hyperglycemia marker. GDM zebrafish was administeredRO-CA nanoemulsion at concentrations of 2.5, 5, and 10 µg/mL.from 2 hpf to 72 hpf.Heart rate was monitored using stereoscopic imaging connected to a camera, whileexpression levels of PEPCK, Nrf2a, SOD, SIRT-1, and TH were quantified using reversetranscriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results revealed a significant decreasein PEPCK expression in the treatment groups compared to the glucose untreated group.Notably, the nanoemulsion maintained heart rate frequency and upregulated Nrf2a, SOD,SIRT-1, and TH expression, particularly at a concentration of 2.5 µg/mL. Overall, thesefindings suggest that the RO-CA nanoemulsion exhibits enhanced antioxidant activity andholds promise as a potential cardioprotective agent in GDM.