Abstract

PROTECTIVE EFFECT OF ANTIOXIDANT SUPPLEMENTS ON KIDNEY FUNCTION IN VANCOMYCIN-STREPTOZOTOCIN INDUCED DIABETIC KIDNEY DISEASE IN RABBITS

Raghda K. Tuama, Atheer AL Idan, Usama H. Ramadhan* and Falah H. Sheri

ABSTRACT

Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by hyperglycaemia and insufficiency in the production or action of insulin. Long-term elevation in blood glucose levels is associated with macro-and microvascular complications. Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is defined as diabetes with albuminuria or impaired glomerular filtration rate or both of them. DKD is the single strongest predictor of mortality in patients with diabetes. Forty male and female rabbits weighing 1000-1300 gm were divided randomly into five groups, n=8 in each group. Group 1 was normal and group 2 diabetic while group 3 vancomycin, group 4 treated 1 and group 5 treated 2. Diabetes mellitus was induced in groups 2 to 5 after overnight fasting by a single intraperitoneal injection of Streptozotocin 50 mg/kg. After that, the animals began treatment with antioxidants, various antioxidants were used orally in different combinations, in the treated 1 group (quercetin 15 mg/kg and L-carnitine 15 mg/kg) and treated 2 group (quercetin 15 mg/kg, L-carnitine 15 mg/kg, Thioctic acid 20 mg/kg and Vitamin C 15 mg/kg). A blood sample of 3 ml was collected every two weeks, and the following biochemical: blood sugar, serum urea, serum creatinine and serum LDL-c were measured. There was a non-significant decrease in serum glucose level in the treated 1 group and treated 2 group compared with the diabetic group, but a significant decrease in serum urea, creatinine and LDL-c levels in the treated 1 group and treated 2 group compared with the diabetic group. The role of antioxidants as adjuvant therapy is to decrease and prevent diabetic kidney disease through the scavenging effect of reactive oxygen species produced by diabetics in kidney tissues.

Keywords: Antioxidant, Diabetic Kidney Disease, L-Carnitine, Quercetin, Thioctic acid, Vitamin C.