Al-Qadisiyah Journal of Pure Science

Protective Role of Gum Arabic against miR-21 Dysregulation and Insulin Resistance in Diabetic Male White Rats

10.29350/qjps.2025.193159
Volume 30, Issue 1
Spring 2025
Pages 300-309
Al-Qadisiyah Journal of Pure Science

Author

Lina Abdul Hussein A. ALLaithi

Ministry of Education, General Directorate of Al-Qadisiyah Education, Iraq

Abstract
Abstract
Dysregulation of blood glucose is considered the primary cause of insulin resistance, as it results from complex metabolic disorders and molecular changes that affect cellular functions in the human body, thereby triggering the environmental and genetic factors that lead to type 2 diabetes.
Previous studies have indicated that Gum Arabic has a beneficial effect in experimental models of type 2 diabetes, owing to its role in improving metabolic disorders as well as its role in reducing oxidative stress and inflammatory mediators; however, its effect on the molecular regulation associated with miR-21 remains unclear.
Therefore, the present study aims to evaluate the protective role of gum Arabic on miR-21 expression and insulin resistance in male rats in which type 2 diabetes was induced by streptozotocin (STZ). We used 32 male white rats weighing between (200–250) g. These were randomly allocated to four groups in which type 2 diabetes was induced by streptozotocin(STZ)at a concentration of 40 mg/kg, except the first group: (C), which comprised animals administered an oral dose of streptozotocin(STZ) dissolved in distilled water at a concentration of 0.5 throughout the duration of the experiment and served as the negative control group; and the second group: T1 comprised animals in which diabetes had been induced and which served as the positive control group; the third group, T2, comprised animals administered gum Arabic at a concentration of 10 mg/kg of body weight for a period of 30 days; and the fourth group: T3 comprised animals administered gum Arabic at a concentration of (25 mg/kg) of body weight for a period of 30 days. At the end of the experiment, the following parameters were analysed: miR-21 expression, glucose, insulin, TNF-α, IL-6, MDA, SOD, and GSH.
The results showed that rats administered doses of 10 and 25 mg/ kg of gum Arabic exhibited a change in the expression of miR-21 at the 25 mg/kg dose compared with the 10 mg/kg dose, which showed improvement, as well as improvements in the levels of glucose, insulin, inflammatory markers, and antioxidants compared with the negative and positive control groups.

Keywords

Gum Arabic
miR-21 expression
streptozotocin(STZ)
Oxidative stress
Antioxidant
Inflammatory cytokines

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