The Effect of Carvacrol on Lipid Profiles, Oxidative Stress, Inflammatory Markers, and Renal Injury in STZ-Induced...

The present experimental study aimed to examine the effects of carvacrol on glycemic control, lipid profile, oxidative stress, inflammatory markers, and renal injury markers (glomerular diameters, urinary space diameters, and number of glomeruli) in diabetic rats. Animals (n = 30) were randomly divided into three groups: control group, diabetic group (induced by STZ: 50 mg/kg), and 250 mg/kg carvacrol-treated group. Carvacrol could significantly improve insulin and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels, and reduce concentrations of cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides, blood urea nitrogen, urea, and creatinine (p < 0.001). In addition, total antioxidant capacity, GPx, and SOD levels were noticeably higher, and MDA level was significantly lower in the carvacrol-treated group compared with the diabetic group (p < 0.001). Furthermore, treatment with carvacrol significantly reduced mRNA expression levels of IL-1β, IL-12, ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and MCP-1 compared with the diabetic group (p < 0.05). However, Nrf-2 mRNA expression was significantly higher in the carvacrol-treated group than in the diabetic group (p < 0.001). Also, treatment with carvacrol could significantly improve glomerular diameters, diameters of urinary space, and number of glomeruli compared with the diabetic group (p < 0.001). Treatment with carvacrol could improve glycemic control, lipid profile, oxidative stress, and inflammatory markers in diabetic rats.