Efficacy of lower doses of vanadium in restoring altered glucose metabolism and antioxidant status in diabetic rat lenses.

Vanadium compounds are potent in controlling elevated blood glucose levels in experimentally induced diabetes. However the toxicity associated with vanadium limits its role as therapeutic agent for diabetic treatment. A vanadium compound sodium orthovanadate (SOV) was given to alloxan-induced diabetic Wistar rats in lower doses in combination with Trigonella foenum graecum, a well-known hypoglycemic agent used in traditional Indian medicines. The effect of this combination was studied on lens morphology and glucose metabolism in diabetic rats. Lens, an insulin-independent tissue, was found severely affected in diabetes showing visual signs of cataract. Alterations in the activities of glucose metabolizing enzymes (hexokinase, aldose reductase, sorbitol dehydrogenase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase) and antioxidant enzymes (glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase) besides the levels of related metabolites, [sorbitol, fructose, glucose, thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) and reduced glutathione (GSH)] were observed in the lenses from diabetic rats and diabetic rats treated with insulin (2 IU/day), SOV (0.6 mg/ml), T. f. graecum seed powder (TSP, 5%) and TSP (5%) in combination with lowered dose of vanadium SOV (0.2 mg/ml), for a period of 3 weeks. The activity of the enzymes, hexokinase, aldose reductase and sorbitol dehydrogenase was significantly increased whereas the activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase decreased significantly in lenses from 3 week diabetic rats. Significant increase in accumulation of metabolites, sorbitol, fructose, glucose was found in diabetic lenses. TBARS measure of peroxidation increased whereas the levels of antioxidant GSH decreased significantly in diabetic condition. Insulin restored the levels of altered enzyme activities and metabolites almost to control levels. Sodium orthovanadate (0.6 mg/ml) and Trigonella administered separately to diabetic animals could partially reverse the diabetic changes, metabolic and morphological, while vanadate in lowered dose in combination with Trigonella was found to be the most effective in restoring the altered lens metabolism and morphological appearance in diabetes. It may be concluded that vanadate at lowered doses administered in combination with Trigonella was the most effective in controlling the altered glucose metabolism and antioxidant status in diabetic lenses, these being significant factors involved in the development of diabetic complications, that reflects in the reduced lens opacity.

Protective effects of sodium orthovanadate in diabetic reticulocytes and ageing red blood cells of Wistar rats.

The reticulocytes and the ageing red blood cells (RBCs) namely young (Y), middle-aged (M) and old RBCs (O) of female Wistar rats from different groups such as control animals (C), controls treated with vanadate (C + V), alloxan-induced diabetic (D), diabetic-treated with insulin (D + I) and vanadate (D + V), were fractionated on a percoll/BSA gradient. The following enzymes were measured - hexokinase (HK), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), glutathione reductase (GSSG-R), glutathione-s-transferase (GST), alanine aminotransferase (AlaAT), aspartate aminotransferase (AsAT) and arginase in the hemolysates of all the RBCs fractions. Decreases in the activity of HK and AsAT by about 70%, arginase and GSH-Px by 30% in old RBCs were observed in comparison to reticulocytes of control animals. Increases in the activity of GSSG-R by 86%, AlaAT by more than 400% and GST by 70% were observed in old RBCs in comparison to reticulocytes of control animals. Alloxan diabetic animals showed a further decrease in the activities of HK in Y RBCs by 37%, M RBCs by 39% and O RBCs by 32%, GSH-Px activity in Y RBCs by 13%, M RBCs by 20% and O RBCs by 33% and GST activity in Y RBCs by 14%, M RBCs by 42% and O RBCs by 60% in comparison to their corresponding cells of control animals. An increase in the activity of all the enzymes studied was also observed in reticulocytes of diabetic animals in comparison to reticulocytes of controls. The GSSG-R activity was found to be increased in Y RBCs by 49%, M RBCs by 67% and O RBCs by 64% as compared to the corresponding age-matched cells of control animals. The activity of arginase also decreased in Y RBCs by about10%, M RBCs by 20% and O RBCs by 30% in comparison to the age-matched cells of control animals. A decrease in the activity of AsAT in Y and M RBCs by 30%, and O RBCs by 25% was observed in diabetic animals in comparison to the age-matched cells of control animals. The activity of AlaAT was found to be decreased by more than 10% in Y and M RBCs and 25% in O RBCs of diabetic animals in comparison to the age-matched cells of control animals. Insulin administration to diabetic animals reversed the altered enzyme activity to control values. Vanadate treatment also reversed the enzyme levels except for that of GST in old cells.