aqueous chicory seed extract ameliorates diabetic kidney damage via alteration of renal renin-angiotensin system (ras) balance

Objectives:  this study investigated the effects of aqueous chicory seed extract (cse), metformin (met), and aspirin (asp) on the renin-angiotensin system (ras) in healthy wistar rats, as well as in early (nia/stz) and late-stage diabetes (stz).methods: rats were divided into control, nia/stz, and stz groups. nia/stz rats received niacinamide/streptozotocin, while stz rats received stz to induce early and late diabetes stages. subgroups received cse (125 mg/kg), metformin (100 mg/kg), or aspirin (120 mg/kg). measurements included mrna levels of agt, ace, ace2, activities of ace and ace2, levels of ang ii and ang-(1-7), protein carbonyl content (pcc), nitric oxide (no), and kidney collagen.results: late-stage diabetes (stz) decreased agt, ace, and ace2 mrna, but increased ace activity, ang ii, ang-(1-7), the ace/ace2 ratio, pcc, and collagen. cse increased agt and ace2 mrna, decreased ace activity, ang ii, the ace/ace2 ratio, and pcc. metformin boosted agt mrna and reduced pcc and collagen. aspirin lowered collagen. early diabetes (nia/stz) decreased agt, ace2, and ang-(1-7), while increasing ace activity and ang ii levels. cse increased agt and ang-(1-7), reducing ang ii and the ang ii/ang-(1-7) ratio. metformin reduced ace mrna and increased ang-(1-7). cse decreased reactive oxygen species (ros) and improved ang-(1-7) levels, especially in early stages. both cse and metformin helped reduce fibrosis.conclusion:     our findings suggest that cse supports renal tissue repair in both early and late stages of t2d by increasing the levels of the protective peptide ang-(1-7), respectively.