The Effect of Alcoholic Extract of Ginger on Apoptosis and Inflammation of Germ Cells in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

Background: Herbal drugs have been used to treat several diseases from liver and neural disorders to diabetes. Our study was aimed to find out the effects of alcoholic ginger extract on testis/body weight and apoptosis of sperm germ cells of chronic diabetic rat. Methods: In this experimental study, sixty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: nontreatment normal (group 1), non-treatment diabetic (group 2), ginger treatment diabetic (group 3), insulin treatment diabetic (group 4) and ginger plus insulin treatment diabetic (group 5). Ginger alcohol extract was injected intraperitoneally at the dose of 200 mg/kg for 6 weeks. TUNEL method was employed to evaluate the germ cells apoptosis. Expression of Bax, Bcl-2, CyclinD1, TRPV1, TLR2 and TLR4 was evaluated using Real-Time PCR technique. Results: Results revealed a significant decrease in the apoptosis index in the group 5 with respect to the group 2 (P<0.05). The expression of BAX, BCL2, TRPV1, TLR2 and TLR4 significantly decreased, while CYC D1 was increased in the group 5 in comparison to group 2. Conclusions: These results suggest ginger has a potentially beneficial role in reducing apoptosis and inflammation in testicular germ cells in chronic diabetic adult rats.