title: Effects of pomegranate seed oil on insulin release in rats with type 2 diabetes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pomegranate seed oil and its main constituent, punicic acid, have been shown to decrease plasma glucose and have antioxidant activity. The objective of the present study was to examine the effects of pomegranate seed oil on rats with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
  
  
  METHODS
  Six groups (n=8 each) of male Sprague-Dawley rats, comprising a control, a diabetic (induced by Streptozocin and Nicotinamide) receiving water as vehicle, a diabetic receiving pomegranate seed oil (200 mg/kg/day), a diabetic receiving pomegranate seed oil (600 mg/kg/day), a diabetic receiving soybean oil (200 mg/kg/day), and a diabetic receiving soybean oil (600 mg/kg/day), were used. After 28 days of receiving vehicle or oils, blood glucose, serum levels of insulin, malondialdehyde, glutathione peroxidase, and lipid profile were determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The diabetic rats had significantly higher levels of blood glucose, serum triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol, and malondialdehyde and lower levels of serum insulin and glutathione peroxidase. Rats treated with pomegranate seed oil had significantly higher levels of serum insulin and glutathione peroxidase activity, and there were no statistically significant differences in terms of blood glucose between them and the diabetic control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings of the present study suggest that pomegranate seed oil improved insulin secretion without changing fasting blood glucose.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran;
authors.forename: Ali Akbar
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Nekooeian
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran;
authors.forename: Mohammad Hassan
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Eftekhari
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran;
authors.forename: Soroor
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Adibi
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Abdloreza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rajaeifard
keywords: Diabetes; Insulin; Punicic acid