Effect of Ginger and its Extract on Blood Sugar and on Kidney Function of Type I Diabetic Rats

Diabetes is one of the high-risk diseases; one of its complications is nephropathy. This can be reduced by eating some foods. The goal of this study was to study the effect of different concentrations of ginger and its extracts on kidney functions and glucose in rats (2010-2011) at King Saud University in Riyadh. Six weeks Wister Albino rats were divided into six groups each of ten rats: control group (C), diabetic group (DC), while other groups were fed by addition of ginger Freezedried or extract concentration (0.5% - 2%) respectively (DGL, DGH, DGEL, DGEH). Diabetes was induced by an intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (50 mg/kg of body weight). The results showed that DGH, DGEL and DGEH groups had less weight than the two control (C, DC) groups. The DGEL and DGEH group showed statistically lowered food intake compared with the C and DC group. Ginger and its extracts caused an increase in glucose level. With regard to nitrogen blood urea (NBU) and urea, the DGL, DGEL and DGEH groups had no significant differences when compared with the C and DC groups. With regard to creatinine and uric acid there were no significant differences among all groups. This study recommends intake of the low dose of ginger (0.5%) and the high dose of the ginger extract (2%) for improvement of the kidney tissue of diabetic patients.