Changes in the uterus and vagina of rats with experimentally induced diabetes and the effect of lycopene on the changes

The aims of this study were to identify the changes that occurred in the uterus and vagina of rats with experimental diabetes, and the effects of orally administered lycopene on these changes. For this research, 42 four-month-old female Wistar Albino rats were used. Experimental diabetes was induced using a single dose of 50 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ). The control and diabetic rats were randomly separated into four groups as follows: control+corn oil, control+lycopene, diabetes+corn oil, and diabetes+lycopene. Crossman's triple staining and the Periodic Acid Schiff (PAS) methods were applied to the uterine and vaginal slides. Additionally, the uterus was stained with Alcian Blue (AB) pH: 2.5. While the number of glands, the thickness of the endometrium, and the PAS-positive reaction in the glandular epithelium were lower, the AB positive reaction in the glandular epithelium was higher in the diabetes+corn oil group in comparison with the control+corn oil group in the uterus. In contrast, while the height of the lamina epithelialis and the thickness of the tunica muscularis were smaller in the diabetes+corn oil group, in comparison with the control+corn oil group, the thickness of the tunica muscularis was larger in the diabetes+lycopene group, in comparison with the vagina of the diabetes+corn oil group. The changes caused by diabetes in the uterus and vagina, as well as the existence of the protective qualities of lycopene were revealed for the first time, to the best of our knowledge.