Studies investigating genes involved in inflammation and apoptosis. (A–E) Analysis of gene expression by quantitative RT-qPCR of MMP-9, MMP-2, TGF-β, TNFα, and P53 in aged rats treated for ten week with streptozotocin and polyphenol combination (NCQ). Data are reported as the fold change of control, following normalization with β-actin expression. (F) DNA fragmentation assay. Lane 1/2: DNA of control group. Lane 3/4/5 STZ group and 6/7 NCQ-STZ group. Data are expressed as means ± SEM. *** p < 0.001, ** p < 0.01, when the control group is compared to STZ-induced diabetic rats group; # p < 0.05, ### p < 0.001 when STZ-untreated rats are compared to NCQ-treated group.