Effect of Thymoquinone on Vitamin D Metabolism in Glucocorticoid-Induced Insulin Resistance

Abstract

Objective(s): The key ingredient in Nigella sativa, thymoquinone (TQ), has several beneficial (antioxidant and anti-inflammatory) properties. This study aimed to investigate the vitamin D metabolism in insulin resistance and the effects of TQ. Materials and Methods: Male Wistar albino rats were used. TQ was administered as a therapy, and prophylaxis and treatment with metformin were set up for the groups in which insulin resistance had been developed. The gene groups implicated in vitamin D metabolism underwent RT-PCR gene expression analysis and western blot protein analysis. Results: The analysis shows that the application of TQ reduced HOMA-IR (a sign of insulin resistance). The expression of the VDR gene may be responsible for TQ's effect on treating insulin resistance. Conclusion: It has been demonstrated that using TQ for therapeutic and preventive reasons is advantageous for improving insulin resistance metrics. Serum vitamin D level was also found to be impacted, which was found to be directly related to the expression of several genes involved in vitamin D metabolism in the liver. However, some of these genes were found to be relatively ineffective in the present study.