Nerolidol Attenuates Diabetic Embryopathy in Streptozotocin-induced Diabetic Pregnant Rats by Reducing Embryonic and Maternal Oxidative Stress

Abstract

Background Pregnancy complicated by diabetes leads to congenital disorders, spontaneous abortion, and neonatal morbidity and mortality, which are termed diabetic embryopathy or fetopathy. Objectives In this work, we planned to investigate the therapeutic potentials of nerolidol against streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic embryopathy in rats through attenuating maternal and fetal oxidative stress. Materials and Methods The male and female Wistar rats were allowed to mate for a night at a 1:1 ratio. After the confirmation of pregnancy, the rats were administered 40 mg/kg of STZ (i.p.) to initiate diabetes and treated with 20 and 40 mg/kg of nerolidol. The changes in food intake, body weight, blood glucose, and urine output were regularly monitored. The levels of lipid profiles were estimated using assay kits. The oxidative stress and antioxidant biomarkers in the liver tissues and embryonic fractions were measured using assay kits. Results The nerolidol treatment considerably depleted the blood glucose and urine output and augmented the body weight and diet intake in diabetic rats. The nerolidol suppressed the cholesterol (Ch), triglycerides (TG), and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) and elevated the high density lipoprotein (HDL) level in diabetic pregnant rats. The maternal and embryonic oxidative stress levels are effectively reduced by the nerolidol treatment by decreasing the malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. The levels of antioxidants were also increased by the nerolidol on both liver and embryonic fractions of diabetic pregnant rats. Conclusion Our results exhibited that the nerolidol treatment considerably reduced embryonic and maternal oxidative stress and embryonic deaths. Hence, it can be a hopeful therapeutic candidate to treat diabetic embryopathy.