Protective Effects of Beetroot on Streptozotocin Induced Diabetes in Adult Male Albino Rats

Background: Diabetes Mellitus is the most common endocrine disorder. It is a pathological state which leads to long term complications causing damage of different tissue and organs as heart and blood vessels. Beetroot have pharmacological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, blood pressure-lowering, neuroprotective and immunomodulatory. Objective: Evaluating beetroot on diabetes induced experimentally in adult male albino rats. Materials and Methods: Sixty adult male albino rats (Rattus norvegicus) were divided into equal four groups as follow: Group I: served as control group, Group II: diabetic group, Group III: normal plus beetroot group and Group IV: Diabetic-beetroot treated group. At the end of experimental period, blood samples were obtained for determination of glycated hemoglobin, blood glucose, serum insulin, aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT), serum lipid profile (total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL), high density lipoprotein (HDL) and triglyceride (TG)), malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), lactate dehydrogenase, nuclear factor kapp, interleukin 1(IL1) and IL6. Also, pancreas and hepatic samples were obtained for histopathology study. Results: Streptozotocin (STZ) led to significant increase in blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin, cholesterol, TG, LDL, AST, ALT, MDA, TNF, lactate dehydrogenase, nuclear factor kappa, IL-1 and IL-6 associated with significant decrease in serum insulin and catalase levels. Beetroot treatment led to significant improvement of all levels. Conclusion: Beetroot has a protective effect in diabetic rats due to its antioxidant properties.