Effects of citral on serum inflammatory factors and liver gene expression of IL-6 and TNF-alpha in experimental diabetes

Abstract

Citral is the main ingredient of the lemongrass plant with anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, the effects of citral on reducing inflammation in experimental diabetes in rats were investigated. Forty rats were randomly divided into four groups. There were two control groups (healthy controls (H) and citral alone-treated control (HC)) and two diabetic groups (diabetes (D) and diabetes+citral treatment (DC)). After diabetes confirmation on day 7, treatment with citral (300 mg/kg) was started for 2 weeks by gavage in the DC and HC groups. On days 0, 7, and 21 of the study, inflammatory elements of blood serum, IL-6, TNF-α, haptoglobin, and α2-macroglobulin were compared between the four groups. Also, on day 21 of the study, the expression level of IL-6 and TNF-α in the liver tissue was analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR. On day 21 of the study, following treatment with citral for 14 days, there was a significant difference in the DC group’s inflammatory factors compared to the D group (P < 0.005). However, no significant difference was observed in DC and the two control groups’ inflammatory factors. Regarding gene expression, the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in the liver were significantly downregulated in the DC group compared to those in the D group (P < 0.05). According to the results of this study, citral can be used as a suitable ingredient to reduce the inflammatory complications of diabetes.