Efeitos da suplementação com ácido ascórbico sore os neurônios mioentéricos doo estômago de ratos diabeticos / Effcts of ascorbbic acid supplementation on myenterc neurons in thhe stomach of diabetic rats
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder characterized by an increase in blood glucose levels. DM can promote degenerative changes in the enteric nervous system due to the hyperglycemia increasing the formation of reactive oxygen species and, consequently increasing the oxidative stress. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of ascorbic acid (AA) supplementation on the NADH-diaphorase reactive neurons (NADH-dr) in the myenteric plexus of the stomach of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. In order to do this, 15 animals were divided into three groups (n=5) C Group (normoglicemic rats), D Group (diabetic rats) and DS Group (diabetic rats treated with ascorbic acid). The NADH-d histochemistry technique was employed and the neuronal density (neurons/mm2) and the cell body profile area of 500 NADH-d-stained neurons from all groups were investigated. The neuronal density in the DS group was higher than in the C (P>0.05) and D (P<0.05) groups. The area of the (NADH-dr) myenteric neurons was smaller in the C (P<0.05) and DS (P>0.05) groups than in the D group. These results suggest that ascorbic supplementation promotes a neuroprotective effect on the NADH-drmyenteric neurons from the stomach of diabetic rats.