| Background. T2DM may cause increased levels of oxidative stress and cardiac apoptosis through elevated blood glucose. The present study investigated the effects of Lactobacillus plantarum (L.plantarum) as a probiotic strain and inulin as a prebiotic supplement on cardiac oxidative stress and apoptotic markers in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rats. Methods. A High-fat diet and a low dose of streptozotocin were used to induce type 2 diabetes. The rats were divided into six groups which were supplemented with L.plantarum, inulin or their combination for 8 weeks. Results. The results showed improved activity of cardiac antioxidant parameters including total antioxidant capacity (TAC), Superoxide dismutase (SOD), and Glutathione Peroxidase (GPX) (P<0.001, P<0.01, and P<0.01, respectively) and decreased level of cardiac Malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration (P<0.05). These changes were accompanied with increased protein expression of cardiac obesity receptor (Ob-R) (P=0.05) and reduced apoptotic markers such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), Fas ligand (FasL), and caspase proteins (P<0.001, P=0.003, and P<0.01, respectively) in T2DM rats after concurrent L.plantarum and inulin supplementation. Moreover, a remarkable correlation of cardiac Ob-R and oxidative stress parameters with cardiac apoptotic markers was observed (P<0.01). Conclusion. The concurrent use of L.plantarum and inulin seem to be beneficial, as they can lead to decreased heart complications of T2DM via reducing cardiac apoptotic markers. |