other <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="color:black">Introduction:</span></span></b><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="color:black"> Overweight and diabetes are among the most important human problems in today&#39;s world. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of <i>Nigella sativa</i> on serum insulin level, insulin resistance, body weight, and tissue changes, which was conducted on rats suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). </span></span></span></span><br> <span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="color:black">Methods and Materials:</span></span></b><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="color:black"> This experimental study was carried out on 21-day-old Wistar female rats (n = 36; 60 &plusmn; 10 g). Rats were divided into six groups (n = 6 in each group): (1) control, (2) PCOS induced by dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA; 60 mg/kg/subcutaneously), (3) PCOS + metformin (30 mg/kg), and (4), (5), and (6) experimental groups receiving DHEA combined with hydroalcoholic extract of <i>Nigella sativa</i> seeds at doses of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg, respectively. After 30 days of treatment, blood samples were obtained to evaluate glucose and insulin. Ovary tissue was used for histopathological study. </span></span></span></span><br> <span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="color:black">Results:</span></span></b><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="color:black"> Our results indicated that the serum levels of luteinizing hormone, testosterone, glucose, insulin resistance, malondialdehyde, and insulin (<i>p</i> = 0.00), as well as estrogen, increased, while the levels of progesterone (<i>p</i> = 0.01) and antioxidant enzymes in the PCOS group decreased (<i>p</i> = 0.00). </span></span></span></span><br> <b><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="color:black">Conclusions and Discussion:</span></span></b><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="color:black"> The administration of <i>Nigella sativa</i> in polycystic ovary syndrome rats led to a reduction in insulin resistance, insulin reduction, body weight loss, and ovarian tissue improvement. The role of <i>Nigella sativa</i> in controlling blood sugar is due to the insulin-like properties of this plant. </span></span></span><br> <br> <img alt="" src="./files/site1/images/888.jpg" style="width: 1000px; height: 36px;" ></span></div> Insulin, Insulin resistance, Nigella sativa, Polycystic ovary syndrome, Rats 249 249 http://ibj.pasteur.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-4696-261&slc_lang=other&sid=1 Ali Nasseri Yes Ali Ganji No Maryam Ranjbarnia No Hamid Heidari No