After 28 days of receiving vehicle or oils, blood glucose, serum levels of insulin, malondialdehyde, glutathione peroxidase, and lipid profile were determined. Results: The diabetic rats had significantly higher
levels of blood glucose, serum triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol, and malondialdehyde and lower levels of serum insulin and glutathione peroxidase. Rats treated with pomegranate seed oil had significantly higher levels of serum insulin and glutathione peroxidase activity, and there were no statistically significant differences in terms of blood glucose between them and Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical the diabetic control group. Conclusion: The findings of the present study suggest that pomegranate
seed oil improved insulin secretion without changing Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical fasting blood glucose. Keywords: Punicic acid, Diabetes, Insulin Introduction Recently, pomegranate seed oil (PSO) has received considerable Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical dietary attention. The oil’s possible beneficial effects have been Pfizer Licensed Compound Library attributed to its main bioactive component, punicic acid (cis9,trans11,cis13CLnA; conjugated linolenic acid), which constitutes 64-83% of PSO.1,2 Moreover, other CLnA isomers, including α-eleostearic acid and catalpic acid, along with phytosterols, especially β-sitosterol, campesterol, and stigmasterol, are also believed to be involved in the overall health beneficial effects observed.2,3 Type 2 diabetes is Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical associated with impaired insulin release or insulin resistance, impaired glucose, lipid metabolisms,
and increased indices of oxidative stress.4,5 Recent investigations suggest that PSO may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by ameliorating high fat diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance.6,7 In line with these findings, pure free isolated punicic acid decreased fasting plasma glucose and improved glucose normalizing ability.8 Moreover, PSO Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical was shown to have antioxidant activity9,10 and favorable effects on lipid profiles in hyperlipidemic subjects.11 Type 2 diabetes has been induced in rats by the administration of Nicotinamide and Streptozocin.12 The model was associated with increased serum glucose, decreased serum insulin, below and lipid metabolism disorder.12 A literature review demonstrates that there is no published study examining the effects of PSO in an experimental model of diabetes. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the effects of PSO on the serum levels of glucose, insulin, malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione peroxidase, and lipid profile in this model. To account for the difference in energy intake, similar doses of soybean oil (SBO) were also used.