Oxidative stress in normal and diabetic rats.

Parameters related to oxidative stress were studied in a group of 10 Wistar diabetic rats and 10 control rats. The levels of total erythrocyte catalase activity in the diabetic animals were significantly (p<0.001) greater than the control levels. The diabetic animals presented an amount of vitamin E far greater (p<0.0001) than the controls, as was also the case for the vitaminE/polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) and vitaminE/linoleic acid (C18:2) ratios. Greater vitaminE/triglyceride (TG) ratio, however, appeared in the control group. The corresponding vitamin A ratios (vitaminA/TG, vitaminA/PUFA, vitaminA/C 18:2) were higher in the control group. Our work corroborates the findings that fatty acid metabolism presents alterations in the diabetes syndrome and that the antioxidant status is affected.