CARBOHYDRATE METABOLISM AND THE STATE OF THE PRO-ANTIOXIDANT SYSTEM IN THE PANCREAS OF RATS WITH EXPERIMENTALLY INDUCED DIABETES AND THE RELEASE OF VANADIUM CITRATE

We investigated the effect of vanadium citrate in the amounts of 0.125, 0.5, and 2.0 µg/mL of water on the enzymatic activity of carbohydrate metabolism, antioxidant system, and the level of lipid peroxide oxidation products in the pancreas of rats with alloxan-induced diabetes. Diabetes was detected at a glucose level of 15.14 mmol/L by measuring glucose level in the blood collected from the tail vein. In the pancreas of rats with experimentally induced diabetes, the levels of lipid hydroperoxides and TBA-positive substances increased significantly, while the level of reduced glutathione and the activity of SOD, CAT, GPx, and GR as well as carbohydrate metabolism enzymes LDH and G-6-PDH decreased as compared to the animals from the control group. With the exposure to vanadium citrate in the pancreas of rats for a month, the level of LPO products decreased and the activity of antioxidant and carbohydrate metabolism enzymes increased as compared to the diabetic animals and dose-dependently reached the level in the animals from the control group. The results obtained from the studies may indicate that the administration of vanadium citrate into the drinking water of rats during a one-month period restores the activity of carbohydrate metabolism enzymes and antioxidant defense enzymes in the pancreas of rats with alloxan-induced diabetes to the normal. Thus, vanadium citrate may be the basis for creating the means for the prevention and treatment of diabetes.