Preliminary Studies of Effects of Vitamin C and Zinc on Some Liver Enzymes in Alloxan-induced Diabetic Wistar Rats

Oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus through increased generation of reactive oxygen species and consequent decline in antioxidant defenses. Diabetes is known to alter the levels of liver enzymes due to production of free radicals. The free radicals may cause hepatic injury. The current study was aimed at evaluating the effects of vitamin C and Zinc on the levels of some liver enzymes in alloxan-induced diabetic Wistar rats. Diabetes was induced in animals by intraperitoneal injection of Alloxan (150 mg/kg). Diabetic rats were randomly divided into four groups (n = 5): Group I (Normal control) received distilled water, Group II (Diabetic control) received distilled water, while Group III and IV were orally administered 100 and 50 mg/kg b w of vitamin C and Zinc respectively for seven days. Blood samples collected from the animals were assayed for liver enzymes viz: serum Aspartate aminotransaminase (AST), Alanine aminotransaminase (ALT) and Alkaline phosphatase (ALP). The result showed that the activities of liver enzymes such as AST, ALT and ALP were significantly increased in the diabetic control. Oral treatment with 100 mg/kg of vitamin C and 50 mg/kg of zinc significantly decreased (p<0.05) the concentration of serum of AST and ALT, while no significant change (p>0.05) was observed on the serum levels of ALP. The results obtained from this study may suggest that vitamin C and zinc may play an important role in the prevention of hepatocellular injury that occurs in diabetes.