Menoufia University, Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia, Egypt.
Ann Anat. 2014 May;196(2-3):119-28. doi: 10.1016/j.aanat.2014.01.003. Epub 2014 Mar 12.
Diabetes mellitus results in neuronal damage caused by increased intracellular glucose leading to oxidative stress. Recent evidence revealed the potential of ginger for reducing diabetes-induced oxidative stress markers. The aim of this study is to investigate, for the first time, whether the antioxidant properties of ginger has beneficial effects on the structural brain damage associated with diabetes. We investigated the observable neurodegenerative changes in the frontal cortex, dentate gyrus, and cerebellum after 4, 6, and 8 weeks of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes in rats and the effect(s) of ginger (500 mg/kg/day). Sections of frontal cortex, dentate gyrus, and cerebellum were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and examined using light microscopy. In addition, quantitative immunohistochemical assessments of the expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, caspase-3, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and Ki67 were performed. Our results revealed a protective role of ginger on the diabetic brain via reducing oxidative stress, apoptosis, and inflammation. In addition, this study revealed that the beneficial effect of ginger was also mediated by modulating the astroglial response to the injury, reducing AChE expression, and improving neurogenesis. These results represent a new insight into the beneficial effects of ginger on the structural alterations of diabetic brain and suggest that ginger might be a potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of diabetic-induced damage in brain.
糖尿病导致神经元损伤，这是由于细胞内葡萄糖增加导致氧化应激。最近的证据表明，生姜具有降低糖尿病诱导的氧化应激标志物的潜力。本研究旨在首次探讨生姜的抗氧化特性是否对糖尿病相关的结构性脑损伤有有益影响。我们研究了链脲佐菌素（STZ）诱导的糖尿病大鼠 4、6 和 8 周后额叶皮质、齿状回和小脑的可观察到的神经退行性变化，以及生姜（500mg/kg/天）的作用。额叶皮质、齿状回和小脑的切片用苏木精和伊红染色，并用光学显微镜检查。此外，还进行了诱导型一氧化氮合酶（iNOS）、肿瘤坏死因子（TNF）-α、半胱天冬酶-3、胶质纤维酸性蛋白（GFAP）、乙酰胆碱酯酶（AChE）和 Ki67 的定量免疫组织化学评估。我们的结果表明，生姜通过减少氧化应激、细胞凋亡和炎症对糖尿病大脑具有保护作用。此外，本研究还表明，生姜的有益作用还通过调节星形胶质细胞对损伤的反应、降低 AChE 表达和促进神经发生来介导。这些结果为生姜对糖尿病大脑结构改变的有益影响提供了新的见解，并表明生姜可能是治疗糖尿病诱导的大脑损伤的潜在治疗策略。
