RESUMEN
Introduction: Type 2 diabetes is one of the most common metabolic diseases. Nitrate has been introduced as a new therapeutic agent for type 2 diabetes. Considering that both diabetes and nitrate have some effects on blood cell count and 30% of diabetic patients have anemia, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of sodium nitrate on blood cell count in obese type 2 diabetic rats
Materials and Methods: Forty-eight male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: Control, Control + nitrate, Diabetes and Diabetes + nitrate. The groups that received nitrate [Control + nitrate, Diabetes + nitrate] again were divided into two subgroups, which received sodium nitrate [100 and 250 mg/L in drinking water] for two months: control+nitrate100 [CN100], control+nitrate 250 [CN250], diabetes+nitrate100 [DN100], and diabetes+nitrate250 [DN250]. Diabetes was induced using a high-fat diet for 14 days and injection of streptozotocin. Blood cell count was performed at the end of the study
Results: In diabetic rats, nitrate administration reduced body weight, blood glucose, hematocrits, and neutrophils [all p<0.05] but increased total number of white blood cells and lymphocytes [p<0.05]. Nitrate administration had no effect on the number of red blood cells, hemoglobin concentration, MCV, MCH, MCHC, or platelet numbers
Conclusion: Administration of sodium nitrate, which is considered as a therapeutic agent in type 2 diabetes, decreased blood glucose in the type 2 diabetic rats but had no major harmful effects on blood parameters; in addition, it may also have anti-inflammatory effects by decreasing the number of neutrophils