Background: The relation between menopausal status and diabetes mellitus remains controversial. However, clinical trials suggest that menopause would speed the progression to diabetes. Reproductive tract dysfunction is a recognized consequence of diabetes obesity syndrome (DOS). Therefore, a possible association between obesity, diabetes mellitus and abnormalities of female reproductive function may occur. Nowadays traditional medicinal plants and spices are commonly used for their possible effects as hypoglycaemic, antidiabetic and folliculogenic agents instead of using synthetic drugs. Recent studies suggest that bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) are promising grafts to treat a variety of diseases, including reproductive dysfunction.
Aim of the work: The objective of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic implication of MSCs and fennel ingestion on ovarian diabetically induced senile rats.
Materials & Methods: 24 senile female albino rats were used in this study. They were divided into 4 equal groups: control group, diabetic group, diabetic/MSCs group and diabetic/ MSCs /fennel oil group. Treatments were continued for 8 weeks, and ovarian samples were collected for histological, immunohistochemical and ultrastructure studies.
Blood glucose levels were estimated and serum hormonal analyses were performed.
Results: Induction of diabetes caused variable sizes of typical ovarian follicular cysts and elevation of blood glucose level. Stem cell transplantation showed some amelioration in the ovarian structure and blood glucose level. Administration of both MSCs and fennel oil had the ability to lower the blood glucose level and restore ovarian structure in diabetic rats.
Conclusion: The use of MSCs in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering makes them a promising therapy to treat diabetes mellitus complications. Fennel essential oil could be given to diabetic patients to ameliorate diabetes in addition to its use as a fertility enhancing agent.