A Preventive herb against bone loss in diabetic rats: Zingiber officinale

Abstract

The study aims to determine and compare bone mechanical and material properties in experimentally diabetic rats treated with ginger extract. Forty female, healthy Wistar albino rats were used in the study. Rats were divided into five groups; Control (C), Sham (S), Ginger (G), Diabetic (D), and Diabetic rats treated with Ginger (DG). Diabetes mellitus was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of 50 mg/kg streptozotocin. Ginger-treated rats received 200 mg/kg ginger extract by oral gavage in a 30-day-trial. At the end of the study, tibiae were harvested and subjected to a three-point bending test. Plasma samples were also analyzed for calcium and phosphorus concentrations. It was observed that the bending strength significantly decreased in the groups Ginger (234.78 ± 16.79; P = 0.019) and the Diabetic (223.90 ± 29.90; P = 0.028) compared to group Control (275.75 ± 33.47). In addition, the bending strength of the diabetic rats treated with ginger (DG group; 251.92 ± 15.90) was also significantly higher than the rats in the Ginger and Diabetic groups (P = 0.032 and P = 0.037, respectively). Although the plasma calcium concentrations showed no differences among any of the groups, the plasma phosphorus levels decreased significantly in group Diabetic (3.47 ± 0.28; P = 0.05) compared to Control (5.11 ± 0.21). However, there was a significant increase in plasma phosphorus in group DG (4.32 ± 0.12; P = 0.05) compared to Diabetic. In conclusion, ginger extract treatment of diabetic rats improves bone material properties. The adverse effects of diabetes on the mechanical properties of the bone were prevented by using ginger extract in diabetic rats.