p53 Rather Than β-Catenin Mediated the Combined Hypoglycemic Effect of Cinnamomum cassia (L.) and Zingiber officinale Roscoe in the Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Model

Nasra Ayuob; Mona Ramadan Al-Shathly; Abdulaziz Bakhshwin; Nouf Saeed Al-Abbas; Nehad A Shaer; Soad Al Jaouni; Walaa H E Hamed

doi:10.3389/fphar.2021.664248

p53 Rather Than β-Catenin Mediated the Combined Hypoglycemic Effect of Cinnamomum cassia (L.) and Zingiber officinale Roscoe in the Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Model

Front Pharmacol. 2021 May 13:12:664248. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.664248. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Nasra Ayuob¹, Mona Ramadan Al-Shathly², Abdulaziz Bakhshwin³, Nouf Saeed Al-Abbas⁴, Nehad A Shaer⁵, Soad Al Jaouni⁶, Walaa H E Hamed⁷

Affiliations

¹ Medical Histology and Cell Biology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Damietta University, Damietta, Egypt.
² Biology Department, Faculty of Science, Jeddah University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
³ Medical Intern, Faculty of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Biology Department, Jumum College University, Umm Alqura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Department of Chemistry, Al Leith- College, Umm Alqura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Department of Hematology/Pediatric Oncology, Yousef Abdul Latif Jameel Scientific Chair of Prophetic Medicine Application, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Medical Histology and Cell Biology Department, Faculty of Medicine, MansouraUniversity, Mansoura, Egypt.

Abstract

Background: The antioxidant, hypoglycemic, and insulin-enhancing effects of ginger and cinnamon were previously confirmed in experimental and human studies, while the combined effect of ginger and cinnamon was not thoroughly investigated until now. Objectives: This study was designed to assess the antidiabetic effect of combined administration of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) and cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia L.) in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats compared to metformin and to explain the mechanism behind this effect. Materials and methods: STZ was utilized to induce diabetes mellitus in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Assessments of fasting blood glucose level (BGL), the total antioxidant capacity (TAC), serum insulin, HOMA-IR, and HOMA-β cells were performed. Pancreatic gene expression of β-catenin and p53 was assessed using RT-PCR. Assessment of histopathological alterations of pancreatic islet cells was performed using routine and immunohistochemical techniques. Results: BGL significantly decreased (p = 0.01), while serum insulin and TAC significantly increased (p < 0.001) in both metformin- and ginger plus cinnamon-treated groups compared to the untreated diabetic group. HOMA-β cell index significantly increased (p = 0.001) in ginger plus cinnamon, indicating their enhancing effect on insulin secretion in diabetic conditions. p53 gene expression was significantly upregulated (p < 0.001), while β-catenin was insignificantly downregulated (p = 0.32) in ginger plus cinnamon-treated groups. Insulin immunoexpression in β cells significantly increased (p = 0.001, p = 0.004) in metformin- and ginger plus cinnamon-treated groups, respectively. Conclusions: The combined administration of ginger and cinnamon has a significant hypoglycemic and antioxidant effect in STZ-induced diabetes mostly through enhancing repair of islet cells mediated via upregulation of pancreatic p53 expression. Therefore, testing this effect in diabetic patients is recommended.

Keywords: antioxidants; cinnamon; diabetes mellitus; ginger; insulin; p53; pancreas; β-catenin.