Protective effects of rosuvastatin against hyperglycemia-induced oxidative damage in the pancreas of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Introduction: According to the powerful antioxidant effects of rosuvastatin, the present study aimed to examine the protective effects of rosuvastatin against oxidative damage of diabetic pancreas by potentiation of the antioxidant capacity in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Methods: Experiment was performed in four groups of male Wistar rats (n=6 in each group): normal, diabetic and two treatment groups (normal and diabetic rats treated with rosuvastatin). Rats were made diabetic by a single intravenous injection of streptozotocin (40 mg/kg) at the beginning of study. Treatment groups received orally rosuvastatin at dose of 10 mg/kg/day. After eight weeks, the pancreas tissues were removed under deep anesthesia. After tissue homogenization, the contents of glutathione and malondialdehyde (MDA) as well as superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were assessed by biochemical methods. Results: Blood glucose of diabetic rats was above 350 mg/dl. The MDA content of the homogenized pancreas significantly increased in diabetic rats by 92%. Diabetes also decreased the content of glutathione (32%) as well as SOD activity (68%) of pancreas tissues. Treatment with rosuvastatin noticeably decreased the MDA levels of diabetic pancreas (90%). Moreover, rosuvastatin significantly increased the glutathione content (21%) and SOD activity (67%) of pancreas tissues in treated diabetic rats. Conclusion: Our findings reveal that rosuvastatin is able to attenuate the uncontrolled hyperglycemia-induced oxidative damage of pancreas through potentiation of the antioxidant defense system.