Antioxidant status in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats treated with vanadium complex

As lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress play a key role in the pathogenesis of diabetes, the antioxidant status of streptozotocin induced diabetic rats, treated with vanadium complex was explored in the present study. Diabetes was induced by single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ) at the dose rate of 45 mg per kg body weight. Diabetes was confirmed after 72 hours of STZ injection by estimating blood glucose level and those rats showing more than 250 mg/ dL were considered as diabetic. Vanadium complex at the dose rates of 5 and 10 mg / kg body weight was administered orally to normal control and STZ induced diabetic rats. Glimepiride was used as the positive control and was given orally at the dose rate of 800 μg / Kg body weight. The study on the hepatic, renal and pancreatic tissues showed that vanadium complex at both the predetermined dosages significantly increased the antioxidant activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase along with a significant increase in the level of glutathione and a significant decrease in the level of lipid peroxidation. The study also revealed that there is a significant reduction in the activity of catalase after treatment with vanadium complex at both the dosage levels.