Authors : Mehmet Guvenc, Okkes Yilmaz, Mehmet Tuzcu and Ayse Dilek Ozsahin
Abstract: The aim of this research was to examine the effects of a Vitamin C (VC) and α-Lipoic Acid (LA) on the arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acids in fatty acid composition of lung and muscle tissues in poorly controlled diabetic rats. Unsaturated fatty acids are synthesized by the desaturase enzymes in the cells. Since desaturation of fatty acids pathway is inadequate in diabetes, essential and non essential fatty acid metabolism is acquired. Arachidonic acid and docosahexaenoic acids are products of Δ6 desaturation pathway. In the study, 46 male Wistar rats were used and the animals were randomly allocated to the following groups: control group (n = 6), Diabetes group (D) (n = 10), D + VC (n = 10), D + α-LA (n = 10) and D + α-LA + VC (n = 10). Rats in D, D + VC, D + α-LA and D + α-LA + VC groups were intraperitoneal injected Streptozotocin (STZ) to formation of type-I diabetes and insulin was not used during the diabetes duration. Control group rats were injected with the buffer alone. After diabetic formation, the rats in D + VC, D + α-LA and D + α-LA + VC groups were administered VC and α-LA for 6 weeks. Following this process, the fatty acid composition of tissues was analyzed with gas chromatography equipment. The results showed that the level of oleic acid in tissues decreased in D and the other groups, when compared to control (p<0.001). The quantity of arachidonic acid in lung tissues was higher in the D and D + Antioxidant groups than in the control group (p<0.001). In addition, the level of the same fatty acid in muscle tissues was higher in the antioxidant group than in the control and D groups (p<0.01). The quantities of docosapentaenoic acid (22:5, n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6, n-3) were higher in all groups than in the control group (p<0.0001). The results of the present study confirmed that antioxidant agents have different effects on fatty acids synthesized by Δ9, Δ6 and Δ5 desaturase enzymes in tissues of lung and muscle.
Mehmet Guvenc, Okkes Yilmaz, Mehmet Tuzcu and Ayse Dilek Ozsahin, 2009. Contribution of Vitamin C and α-Lipoic Acid and Their Combination on the Products Level of Desaturase Enzymes in the Lung and Muscle Tissues of Poorly Controlled Experimental Diabetic Rats. Research Journal of Biological Sciences, 4: 710-715.