Background: Chronic hyperglycemia is associated with long-term damage in the structure and functions of female gonads, especially the ovaries and uterus. Inulin is the major component of Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) roots and leaves. Inulin is used to prepare appropriate low caloric foods for diabetic patients to maintain blood sugar levels.
Aim: This work was mainly designed to evaluate the ameliorative role of inulin extract on the metabolic and structural changes in the ovaries and uterus of female rats neonatally induced by streptozotocin.
Material and Methods: Twenty-four offsprings of female rats were used in the present work and separated into 4 groups (n=6). Group 1: control group, group 2: inulin supplemented group (10mg /kgbw), group 3: the streptozotocin-induced group that subjected to a single intraperitoneal dose of streptozotocin (80 mg/Kgbw), and group 4: Streptozotocin plus inulin extract. Body weight, levels of female sex hormones, antioxidants, and lipid profiles were measured. Also, the ovarian and uterine specimens were also processed for histological and immunohistochemical investigation
Results: The obtained results revealed a remarkable significant decrease in the levels of serum antioxidants (superoxide dismutase and catalase) and female sex hormones as well as a significant increase in serum lipid profiles in the diabetic group. Moreover, several histopathological signs appeared in the ovarian and uterine sections of the diabetic group including, atretic follicles, degenerated germinal epithelium, stromal hemorrhage, fragmented endometrial glands, and cellular hypertrophy. Furthermore, the ovarian sections of the diabetic group displayed strong positive expression for NFκB and the uterine sections showed weak expression for B-cell lymphoma-2 if compared with the control.
Conclusion: Inulin has a potential role in the amelioration of disrupted ovarian and uterine structure of diabetic rats through exerting hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, antioxidant, anti-apoptotic effects and modulation of female sex hormones.