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Autonomic diabetic neuropathy (ADN) is a complication of diabetes mellitus (DM), to which there is no specific treatment. In this study, the efficacy of the essential oil of Croton zehntneri (EOCz) in preventing ADN was evaluated in the rat vagus nerve. For the two fastest conducting myelinated types of axons of the vagus nerve, the conduction velocities and rheobase decreased, whilst the duration of the components of the compound action potential of these fibers increased. EOCz completely prevented these DM-induced alterations of the vagus nerve. Unmyelinated fibers were not affected. In conclusion, this investigation demonstrated that EOCz is a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of ADN.

The paper presents the currently available data on the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM), its complications, including functional and structural changes in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). A range of unsolved problems associated with the frequency, pattern and mechanisms of gastric functional and structural disorders in DM; the cause-and-effect relationship between DM and upper GIT pathology; and the role of Helicobacter pylori in the development of gastroduodenal mucosal changes in the presence of DM are described. The authors give the results of their own studies on 2 groups of patients with DM: 1) 463 patients treated for GIT pathology in a specialized gastroenterology unit; 2) 1500 patients were followed up by a polyclinic endocrinologist. The study has shown that the number of diabetic patients with GIT dysfunction complaints constantly increases. Ulcerative erosive lesions were detected in 36.6% of the inpatients with DM and only in 1.9 and 3.2% of the outpatients with Types 1 and 2, respectively; moreover, the patients with Type 2 DM more frequently complained of epigastralgia than those with Type 1 DM.