Protective effect of vanadyl sulfate on skin injury in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of vanadyl sulfate supplementation on the skin tissues of diabetic and control rats. In this study, 6-6.5 months old male Swiss albino rats were used. The animals were randomly divided into the following four groups: group I, control (nondiabetic intact animals); group II, vanadyl sulfate control; group III, streptozotocin (STZ)-diabetic animals and group IV, STZ-diabetic animals given vanadyl sulfate. The animals were made diabetic by intraperitoneal injection of a single dose of 65 mg/kg STZ in 0.01 M citrate buffer (pH = 4.5). From day 1 to day 60, 100 mg/kg vanadyl sulfate was given daily by gavage technique to one of the control and diabetic groups. Body weights and blood glucose levels were estimated on experimental days 0, 1 and 60. On the 60th day, skin tissue samples were taken, glutathione (GSH), lipid peroxidation (LPO), nonenzymatic glycosylation (NEG) and protein levels, catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activities were determined. Blood glucose, skin LPO and NEG levels increased, but skin GSH levels and CAT, SOD and GST activities decreased in the STZ group. Treatment with vanadyl sulfate reversed these effects. The present study showed that vanadyl sulfate exerted antioxidant properties and may prevent skin damage caused by diabetes.