TWO BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS, ROSMARINIC ACID AND SINAPIC ACID, DO NOT AFFECT THE DEPLETED GLUTATHIONE LEVEL IN THE LENSES OF TYPE 2 DIABETIC FEMALE RATS

Oxidative stress arises during numerous diseases, such as diabetes. It affects various tissues and organs, including the eye lens leading eventually to cataract. Phenolic acids are known to reveal antioxidative properties. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of two bioactive compounds: rosmarinic acid (RA) and sinapic acid (SA) on the oxidative stress markers in the lenses of type 2 diabetic female rats. Both these phenolic acids were administered by gavage for 28 days to the rats, in which diabetes was induced by a high fat diet and streptozotocin. The following doses of phenolic acids were used: 10 and 50 mg/kg body weight (bw) for RA and 5 and 25 mg/kg bw for SA. Oxidative stress markers, including antioxidative enzymes, non-enzymatic antioxidants and oxidative damage markers, were evaluated in the lenses. Obtained results indicate that type 2 diabetes affected mainly the glutathione, as the levels of both reduced and oxidized glutathione were reduced in the lenses of diabetic female rats. Oral administration of the examined phenolic acids did not counteract these changes, regardless of the dose. Since glutathione plays a crucial role in lens transparency maintenance, neither RA nor SA can be considered promising agents in diabetic cataract prevention.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the effect of rosmarinic acid (RA) and sinapic acid (SA) on oxidative stress markers in the lenses of type 2 diabetic female rats. The results showed that neither RA nor SA could counteract the reduced levels of glutathione caused by diabetes, indicating that they may not be promising agents for diabetic cataract prevention.