Introduction: Diabetes mellitus impairs the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins, which leads to the dysfunction of the central and peripheral nervous system. This study evaluates the effects of an aloe vera hydro-alcoholic extract on diabetic neuropathy. Materials and

Methods: For this study, 48 healthy male Sprague Dawley rats(weighed 250-200 g) were randomly divided in to three groups: control (n=16), diabetic + normal diet (n=16), and diabetic + aloe vera extract (n=16). To induce diabetes, an intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (50 mg/kg) was administered to rats. The control (normal diet) and diabetic + aloe vera group received 400 mg/kg of aloe vera extract once daily. All groups were maintained for 12 and 16 weeks. The tibial nerves was collected from anesthetized animals for tissue processing. Histomorphometric and histological results were analyzed by SPSS software.

Results: The diabetic rats showed a significant decrease in diameter of the myelinated fibers and myelin sheath thickness. axon diameter particularly after 16 weeks. In the untreated diabetic group endoneural edema, enfolding and irregularity of myelinated fibers was observed(P<0.05). Long-term treatment with aloe vera prevented these abnormalities in the treated diabetic rats.

Conclusion: Our findings indicated that hydroalcoholic extract of aloe vera is a potential therapeutic agent that can prevent diabetic peripheral neuropathy, as well as histomorphometric and histological changes.