Abstract
Background: α-Lipoic acid (LA), a cofactor of α-ketodehydrogenase, is a natural antioxidant. Though clinically used in treating peripheral diabetic polyneuropathy, its mode of action is not clear. In this study we tested whether LA affects glucose homeostasis and muscle glucose transporters. Methods: LA was administrated to fasting control and streptozotocin diabetic rats either acutely (100 mg/kg, i.v.) or chronically (30 mg/kg, i.p. for 10 days). Results: Acute administration reduced blood glucose, 76 ± 16 vs. 38 ± 9 mg% (p < 0.01) by 1 hour in control, and 255 ± 22 vs. 185 ± 41 mg% (p < 0.05) by 2 hours in diabetic rats. Chronic treatment reduced blood glucose concentration in diabetic, 341 ± 36 vs. 189 ± 48 mg% (p = 0.001), but not in control rats. Gastrocnemius GLUT4-protein content was increased by LA approximately 2-fold in both control and diabetic rats, resulting in normalization ot muscle GLUT4 content in diabetic rats. Muscle lactate was increased in diabetic rats (19.9 ± 5.5 vs. 10.4 ± 2.8 in control p < 0.05, respectively), and normalized by chronic LA treatment. Conclusions: Chronic LA treatment improves glycemia of streptozotocin diabetic rats by increasing muscle GLUT4-protein content. This may improve diabetes related muscle glucose metabolism abnormalities.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 50-54 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Diabetes und Stoffwechsel |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue number | 3 SUPPL. |
| State | Published - 1 Dec 1996 |
Keywords
- diabetes
- glucose transporter
- lipoic acid
- skeletal muscle
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Internal Medicine
- Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
- Endocrinology
