In the present study, it was aimed to investigate the effects of
safranal, one of the components of saffron plant, on the
inflammation in the rats in which experimental
type 2 diabetes and
obesity were formed.
Type 2 diabetes is a disease characterized by
insulin resistance and β-cell dysfunction. Therefore, in the present study, high-fat diet (HFD) and
streptozotocin were used for being able to create experimental
type 2 diabetes. In the first 6 weeks of the study, experimental groups were formed in five groups, after the stage of creating
insulin resistance. The study groups were designed as control, HFD, HFD-
Saf, DYB, and DYB-
Saf groups.
Safranal treatment was applied to the treatment groups for a period of 4 weeks. Throughout the study period (10 weeks), the
weight gains and plasma
glucose levels of the rats were determined each week and bi-weekly, respectively. At the end of the study,
interferon gamma (IFN-γ),
interleukin (IL)-1β,
IL-6,
tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), TAS and TOS levels in the pancreas and plasma were measured. In addition, the
insulin and
leptin levels in the plasma were determined. It was ascertained that, compared to the diabetic group,
safranal decreased the
inflammation both in the plasma and pancreas tissue, by reducing the TNF-α and IL-1β levels in particular. In addition,
safranal was also found to decrease the oxidative stress increased due to
type 2 diabetes in the plasma and pancreas tissue. It was concluded that
safranal might be helpful in terms of reduction of
diabetic complications, by means of its effects on both oxidative stress and
inflammation, and that further studies should be carried out for this purpose.