Abstract
Background: Persistent hyperglycemia in diabetes mellitus leads to increasing oxidative stress, resulting in various late diabetic complications including pulmonary distress.
Objectives: This experiment was designed to study the effects of leucine (L), zinc (Zn), and chromium (Cr) supplementation on pulmonary oxidative stress and antioxidant capacity in type 2 diabetic rats.
Methods: Seventy-seven adult male rats were randomly assigned into the following groups: 1) control; 2) diabetic; 3) diabetic + NPH insulin; 4) diabetic + glibenclamide; 5) diabetic + L; 6) diabetic + Zn; 7) diabetic + Cr; 8) diabetic + L + Zn; 9) diabetic + Zn + Cr; 10) diabetic + L + Cr; 11) diabetic + L + Zn + Cr. Rats were fed normal chow (control), or high-fat diet for 2 weeks and then injected with a streptozotocin intraperitoneally. L, Zn, Cr, and glibenclamide were added to drinking water and NPH insulin was subcutaneously injected during the 4 weeks of treatment period. Levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) were measured in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung tissue.
Results: Supplementation of diabetic rats with L, Zn, and Cr, alone and in combination, significantly (P<0.05) reduced the level of MDA (as an index of lipid peroxidation) in BALF and lung homogenate. The highest level of FRAP (as a total antioxidant capacity) was observed in the group supplemented with combination of L, Zn, and Cr compared to that in the untreated diabetic group.
Conclusions:The results show that L, Zn, and Cr supplementation of rats with type 2 diabetes may ameliorate oxidative stress and improve antioxidant capacity in pulmonary system.
- © 2014 ERS
