Protective effect of Plantago Psyllium seed on contractile reactivity of thoracic aorta of Streptozotocin-diabetic rats

Considering the increasing incidence of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disorders in diabetes mellitus, this study was conducted to evaluate the beneficial effect of two-month administration of Plantago Psyllium (PP) seed on the contractile reactivity of isolated aorta in diabetic rats. In this experimental study, 32 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four control, PP-treated control, diabetic and PP-treated diabetic groups. To induce diabetes, Streptozotcin (STZ) was intraperitoneally administered (60mg/Kg). PP-treated groups received PP mixed with standard pelleted food at a weight ratio of 6.25%. After 2 months, contractile reactivity of thoracic aortic rings to KCl and Noreadrenaline were determined using isolated tissue setup. Data was analyzed using ANOVA and Tukey tests. Serum glucose level showed a significant increase in diabetic group after one and two months (p<0.001), but it,s decrease in PP-treated diabetic group was not significant in comparison to diabetic group. Also PP-treated diabetic group showed a lower contraction to KCl (p<0.05) and noreadrenaline (p<0.01) as compared to diabetic group. Meanwhile, there was no significant difference between control and PP-treated control groups regarding contractile reactivity. It can be concluded that oral administration of PP for 2 months can decrease the contractile responsiveness of vascular system and this may prevent the development of hypertension in diabetic rats.