The effect of vitamin C on the metabolic parameters of experimental diabetes mellitus

The role of vitamin C on diabetes mellitus is unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of oral administration of vitamin C on some of the metabolic parameters of diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of STZ (60 mg [kg.sup.-1] body weight at 12 weeks of age). Vitamin C (10, 50, 100 mg [kg.sup.-1] body weight) was administered orally for a period of four weeks to normal and diabetic male Wistar rats. In some experiments vitamin C was given either before or after the induction of diabetes mellitus. Glucose tolerance test (GTT) was performed on fasted normal, diabetic and vitamin C-treated rats at the end of the experimental period. Blood sugar level and weight were also recorded on a weekly basis for each rat in different groups. Vitamin C significantly (p Key words: ROS, vitamin C, antioxidants, diabetes, glucose
INTRODUCTION Diabetes mellitus (DM) is currently taking its place as one of the main threats to human health in the 21st century. In the past two decades the number of [...]