EFFECT OF DIALLYL DISULFIDE (DADS) ON GLUCOSE UTILIZATION IN DIABETIC ERYTHROCYTES

Background & objectives: Diallyl disulphide (DADS) is an active component of garlic that has been claimed to have hypoglycemic effect and are beneficial in achieving glycemic control in diabetes mellitus (DM). The present study was conducted to assess the glucose utilization in erythrocytes in diabetic subjects after the exposure of DADS. Methods: The blood samples were collected from diabetic subjects; the plasma and erythrocytes were separated. The fasting plasma glucose levels were measured and the separated erythrocytes from diabetic blood samples were preincubated and posted incubated with DADS. The glucose utilized by erythrocytes and the percentage of glucose utilization were measured. Results: The present study results showed that diabetic erythrocytes exposed to DADS showed a significant rise of glucose utilization compared to untreated erythrocytes, which signifies the positive influence of DADS on glucose utilization in diabetic patients’ erythrocytes. Conclusion: DADS, through the formation of thiol derivatives, promotes glucose utilization by mimicking the actions of insulin in diabetic erythrocytes after post-incubation. This study can be concluded that DADS can be used as a therapeutic drug to improve glucose utilization in diabetic patients.