Introduction: Diabetes mellitus represents one of the most prevalent chronic diseases and a major public health challenge worldwide. It leads to serious consequences in several tissues including gastrointestinal tract. Bee venom (BV) is a traditional medicine used for treating various diseases.
Aim: to investigate the effects of diabetes on gastric fundic mucosal changes and to evaluate the possible therapeutic role of BV on these changes in a rat model of streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetes mellitus.
Materials and methods: Thirty adult male albino Wister rats were divided into four groups. Group I (control), group II (BV): received intraperitoneal injection (IP) of 0.5mg/kg BV twice weekly for four weeks, group III (diabetic): received single IP of 45mg/kg STZ and group IV (diabetic-BV treated): one week after confirmation of diabetes, rats received BV for four weeks (as group II). At the end of the experiment, samples of the fundus of the stomach were collected from all rats. The specimens were processed for light and transmission electron microscopic studies. Morphometric and statistical studies were also performed.
Results: diabetic rats showed sloughing of fundic epithelium, significant decrease in mucous secreting cells, significant increase in collagen fibers and increase inflammatory cells in lamina propria. Cells of fundic glands were seen with karyolitic nuclei and dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum. Administration of BV showed improvement of histological structural changes induced by diabetes.
Conclusions: BV have relevant therapeutic role in the fundic mucosa induced by diabetes. So, it could potentially provide possible solution for gastric changes associated with diabetes.