Twenty diabetic rats that received a daily oral dose of the NCD at a dose of 20 mg/kg body weight for 45 days after induction of DM and a weekly intraperitoneal (i.p.) dose of HO-1 inhibitor, ZnPP IX (10 μmol/Kg dissolved in sodium hydroxide 0.1 N and sodium chloride 0.9% and pH adjusted to pH 7.4) for 6 weeks. The gene discussed is HMOX1; the disease is diabetes mellitus.