Abstract:
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is linked to an increase in dyslipidemia, which is associated with atherosclerosis, one of the leading causes of cardiovascular disease. Soybean(Glycine max) and ginger(Zingiber officinale) are functional foods, although the potency of herbs to suppress atherogenic DM has not been adequately demonstrated. This study was therefore conducted to examine the anti-atherogenic effects of G. max, Z. officinale,and their combination in a type 2 diabetic rat model. Extracts were prepared from G. maxseeds and Z. officinalerhizome. Sprague Dawleyrats were obtained and given a combination of high fructose high lipid diet (HFHLD) and a single dose of streptozotocin (25 mg/kg BW) intraperitoneally to induce diabetes. The rats were administered orally with G. max(5000 mg/kg BW), Z. officinale(500 mg/kg BW), and their combination for four weeks. Blood samples were collected from the heart. The lipid profile was calculated to determine the amounts of non-HDL-c, CRI-1 (TC/HDL-c), CRI-2 (LDLc/HDLc), and AIP [log 10 (TG/HDL-c)]. The results revealed thatthe oral administration of G. max (5000 mg/kg BW), Z. officinale(500 mg/kg BW), and their combination significantly (p<0.05) lowered non-HDL cholesterol levels by 20, 40, and 50%, respectively, compared to the diabetic group, while AIP levels were reduced significantly (p<0.05) by 20, 30, and 30%, respectively. CRI-2 was significantly (p<0.05) lowered by 30% in all test groups, but only Z. officinalereduced CRI-1. The findings of this study show that Z. officinaleis more effective at inhibiting atherogenesis than G. maxand their combination
