The Effect of Aqueous Extract of Nettle and Endurance Training on Serum CRP, Blood Glucose, Body Weight, and Changes in Pancreatic, Liver and Heart Tissues of STZ-Diabetic Rats

  The anti-diabetic effects of nettle and exercise training have been proven, but the simultaneous effects of these two types of treatment in diabetic patients had controversy. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the of nettle extract and endurance training on serum C-Reactive Protein (CRP), blood glucose, Weight and the pancreatic, liver and heart tissue changes of diabetic rats. In an experimental study, seventy male Wistar rats (weight =227.35 ± 18.52 g) were randomly divided into seven equal groups including; 1- healthy control 2- diabetic control 3- diabetic with nettle extract 4- diabetic with metformin 5- diabetic with training 6- diabetic with training + nettle 7- diabetic with training + metformin. Diabets was induced by intraperitoneal streptozotocin (STZ) injection in diabetic and therapeutic groups other than the healthy control group. Swimming training was performed for four weeks, 5 days a week, inside an animal training pool. At the end of the treatment, the mice were anesthetized and blood samples were taken to measure glucose and CRP and also samples of pancreatic, liver and heart tissue were collected for histopathologic studies. After the treatment, glucose concentration decreased the significantly in the treatment groups compared to the diabetic control group, in which the highest reduction was seen in nettle + training and metformin group (P <0.001). Also, CRP was significantly decreased the nettle + training in compared to diabetic control group (P <0.05). Photomicrographic evaluation showed less damage and more improvement in liver, pancreas and heart tissues of treatment groups, especially the nettle + training group. The results showed that the use of the nettle extract and exercise training can reduce glucose and inflammation and also can reduce the tissue damage of diabetic rats.