Effects of Nigella sativa L. seed oil on intima–media thickness and Bax and Caspase 3 expression in diabetic rat aorta

Abstract

Objective:Hyperglycaemia is an important risk factor for the development and progression of the macrovascular and microvascular complications that occur in diabetes. The expression of apoptotic markers in the aortic medial layer of diabetic rats and the effects of N. sativa L. seed oil on the expression of these markers were investigated in this study.Methods:Four-month-old adult female Wistar rats (n=21) were divided into 3 groups: Group 1, control; Group 2, diabetes and Group 3, diabetes+N. sativa L. seed oil. Group 3 received 0.2 mg/kg/day N. sativa L. seed (black cumin) oil intraperitoneally 6 days per week for 30 days. At the end of the experiment, abdominal and thoracic aortas of all animals were collected and fixed in 10% formalin solution. Then, 5-µm-thick sections were stained with Verhoeff–Van Gieson stain to evaluate Bax and Caspase 3 expression. Tunica intima–media thickness was measured using the stained sections.Results:There were no significant differences in abdominal or thoracic aortic intima–media thickness among the 3 groups. However, there were significant differences in Bax and Caspase 3 expression in the tunica media of the thoracic and abdominal aortas between Group 1 and Group 2 (p<0.05) and between Group 2 and Group 3 (p<0.05) evaluated with the Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney U tests.Conclusion:It is understood that N. sativa L. seed oil is effective against diabetes. N. sativa L. seed oil is a plant material and has value for further investigation to develop diabetes treatment strategies for preventing apoptosis in vascular structures.

Potential health benefits of Nigella sativa on diabetes mellitus and its complications: A review from laboratory studies to clinical trials

“…NS significantly increases the expression BCL2 in cardiac tissue following NS oil administration for 21 days ( 35 ). Cuce et al also found a similar result as they reported a reduction in BAX and caspase 3 expression in the abdominal and thoracic aortic section, preventing apoptosis in the vessels of STZ-induced diabetic rats ( 57 ). The antiapoptotic effect of NS is not only beneficial for preventing cellular damage in DM but also resourceful in managing cancerous cells, as reported widely ( 86 ).…”

Black Cumin (Nigella sativa L.): A Comprehensive Review on Phytochemistry, Health Benefits, Molecular Pharmacology, and Safety

“…In addition, NSO, the principal functional preparation of black cumin showed ameliorating effects in several STZ or alloxan-induced diabetic models. The major pharmacological mechanisms include the promotion of pro-survival and antiapoptotic signals [ 133 , 134 ], activation of growth factor signaling and inhibition of inflammatory response [ 135 ], increased insulin secretion and antioxidant molecules [ 136 ], suppression of extracellular matrix gene expression [ 137 ], and regulation lipid profiles [ 138 ]. Recently an in vitro cell-free assay reported alpha-amylase inhibitory activity of silver nanoparticles prepared from NSO, supporting its hypoglycemic effects [ 139 ].…”

Preventive Nutritional Style for New Type 2019 Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Pandemic

“…Nigella sativa and isolated from black cumin seeds, thymoquinone has many beneficial effects such as being an antioxidant, antihyperlipidemic, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, gastroprotective and hepatoprotective. Researches on animals reveal that Thymoquinone has hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic and hypocholesterolemic effects [27][28][29] . Thymoquinone has been shown to regulate the production of antibodies.…”