EFFECT OF APITHERAPY ON THE PANCREAS & LIVER OF STREPTOZOTACIN INDUCED DIABETIC RATS. A BIOCHEMICAL AND HISTOLOGICAL STUDY

Sara Abdel Gawad, Heba Fikry*, Amira Ramadan Elmahdi, Mariam Maged Amin and Doaa Abd Elaziz

ABSTRACT

Objective: The main issue in management of diabetes mellitus (DM) is to control blood glucose level and lipid profile using medical agents including natural toxins. Bee venom (BV) which had been used to treat various diseases is of a great importance in this regard. So the aim of the work was to evaluate the therapeutic effects of honey BV (apitoxin) on blood glucose level, lipid profile as well as on the histological changes in pancreas and liver of Streptozotacin (STZ) induced diabetic rats. Design and methods: This study assessed serum glucose level, C.peptide, C- Reactive protein (CRP), triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol in fifty adult male albino rats divided into four randomly groups: control, BV group , STZ induced diabetic group and BV treated group. Then they were sacrificed for pancreatic and liver biopsy. Results: Serum glucose, CRP, TG and total cholesterol levels was significantly decreased (Pï‚£ 0.05) in BV treated group in comparison with diabetic group. Moreover, BV treated group showed significant increase in serum C.peptide level and area percentage of anti-insulin antibodies in the pancreatic tissue (Pï‚£ 0.05) as well as restoration of normal histological structure of pancreatic cells and hepatocytes in comparison with diabetic group. Conclusion: Administration of BV improves blood glucose and lipid profile as well as histological features of the pancreas and liver in STZ induced diabetic rats, therefore it can be considered as a novel therapeutic agent for DM.

Keywords: Bee venom, Streptozotacin, Diabetes mellitus, Insulin.