Diabetes is a public health problem affected pregnant rats associated with developmental defects of their growing fetuses and histopathological abnormalities of their body organs. The traditional application of phytotherapy encourages author to develop the more safety plants which exerts antidiabetic activity and improve the histological structure. The present study aimed to evaluate the intensity of lesions induced in liver, kidney, heart and lingual mucosa of 18-day old fetuses of diabetic mother. Also, how can cinnamon-extract supplementation exert antiapoptic activity and improved the histological picture during in utero treatment. Twenty pregnant rats were used in the present work. They were categorized into four groups (n = 5); control, cinnamon extract group, diabetes, diabetes and cinnamon supplementation. Diabetes was developed by single i.p. administration of streptozotocin (60 mg/kg in citrate buffer pH 4.5 plus 100mg/kg nicotinamide). Cinnamon watery extract (300mg/kg body weight) was daily orally administrered from 6th day of gestation until 18th day of gestation. At the end of treatment, the mother was sacrificed, and their fetuses were removed and liver, kidney, heart and tongue were dissected and preserved in 10% phosphate buffered formalin pH 7.4. Also, immunohistochemistry of caspase 3 and P53 were carried out. At 18th day of gestation, maternal blood glucose levels were monitored in the investigated groups. The present findings revealed that diabetes induced damage of hepatocytes, deformation of renal tubules and renal corpuscles, fragility of myocardial muscles and damage of epithelium lining the lingual mucosa and retarded the differentiation of lingual papillae especially fungiform papillae. Increase average of apoptic cells were detected in the examined tissues of diabetic mother. Cinnamon-treatment reduced the incidence of apoptosis and improved the histological picture of liver, kidney, heart and tongue of fetuses maternally diabetic compared to the control. Image analysis revealed overexpression of immunohistochemical reaction of caspase 3 in liver, kidney and heart as well as caspase 3 and p53 in heart of fetuses of diabetic mother compared to those of diabetic mother supplemented cinnamon extract and control. The authors finally concluded that cinnamon extract showed a hypoglycaemic activity, reduced the streptozotocin associated diabetes and ameliorated the fetal liver, kidney, heart and tongue histological and immunohistochemical picture.
