Abstract
Background:
The antioxidant, hypoglycemic, and insulin-enhancing effects of ginger and cinnamon were previously confirmed in experimental and human studies, while the combined effect of ginger and cinnamon was not thoroughly investigated until now.
Objectives:
This study was designed to assess the antidiabetic effect of combined administration of ginger (
Zingiber officinale
Roscoe) and cinnamon (
Cinnamomum cassia
L.) in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats compared to metformin and to explain the mechanism behind this effect.
Materials and methods:
STZ was utilized to induce diabetes mellitus in male Sprague–Dawley rats. Assessments of fasting blood glucose level (BGL), the total antioxidant capacity (TAC), serum insulin, HOMA-IR, and HOMA–β cells were performed. Pancreatic gene expression of β-catenin and p53 was assessed using RT-PCR. Assessment of histopathological alterations of pancreatic islet cells was performed using routine and immunohistochemical techniques.
Results:
BGL significantly decreased (
p
= 0.01), while serum insulin and TAC significantly increased (
p
< 0.001) in both metformin- and ginger plus cinnamon–treated groups compared to the untreated diabetic group. HOMA–β cell index significantly increased (
p
= 0.001) in ginger plus cinnamon, indicating their enhancing effect on insulin secretion in diabetic conditions. p53 gene expression was significantly upregulated (
p
< 0.001), while β-catenin was insignificantly downregulated (
p
= 0.32) in ginger plus cinnamon–treated groups. Insulin immunoexpression in β cells significantly increased (
p
= 0.001,
p
= 0.004) in metformin- and ginger plus cinnamon–treated groups, respectively.
Conclusions:
The combined administration of ginger and cinnamon has a significant hypoglycemic and antioxidant effect in STZ-induced diabetes mostly through enhancing repair of islet cells mediated
via
upregulation of pancreatic p53 expression. Therefore, testing this effect in diabetic patients is recommended.