effect of the aquatic extract of stevia on the serum level of interleukin-6 in streptozotocin-nicotinamide induced diabetic rats

Background]diabetes, as a common chronic disorder, is the seventh leading cause of death in the world. this disorder is classified into two major types: type i and type ii diabetes mellitus. recently, researchers have identified a higher level of inflammatory cytokines in patients with type ii diabetes, compared to the normal population. today, plantbased therapies, given their antidiabetic properties, have attracted the researchers’ attention. one of the medicinal plants with antidiabetic effects is stevia rebaudiana bertoni. various hypotheses have been proposed to explain how stevioside, as a derivative of stevia rebaudiana, can cause such a significant decline in blood glucose level. to the best of our knowledge, the exact antiinflammatory and immunomodulatory effects of the aquatic extract of stevia are not fully understood. therefore, the current research aimed to evaluate whether stevia can improve the interleukin6 (il6) level in streptozotocinnicotinamideinduced diabetic rats.[methods]in the present study, a cohort of rats was divided into five groups, each containing 11 rats: (1) normoglycemic group, receiving 1 ml of water; (2) diabetic control group, receiving 1 ml of water; (3) and (4) diabetic groups treated with the aquatic extracts of stevia (400 mg/kg) and metformin (500 mg/kg), respectively; and (5) healthy group treated with the aquatic extract of stevia (400 mg/kg). at the end of the experiment, the rats were sacrificed and blood samples were collected from the heart for evaluating serum il6 changes. statistical analysis was performed, using oneway analysis of variance (anova), followed by the least significant difference (lsd) posthoc multiple comparison test.[results]the present results showed that il6 (p = 0.001) and fasting blood sugar (fbs) (p lt; 0.001) levels significantly increased in all diabetic groups, compared to healthy rats. surprisingly, treatment with stevia could significantly reduce fbs (p lt; 0.001), as well as il6 level (p = 0.001) in comparison with the diabetic group.[conclusions]based on the findings, inflammation can be ameliorated with the whole aquatic extract of stevia, as an antidiabetic compound. therefore, by considering il6 level as an indicator of insulin resistance, stevia can lead to a decline in il6 level and thereby reduce insulin resistance in diabetic patients.