Influence of alloxan-induced diabetes and selenite treatment on blood glucose and glutathione levels in mice

Many clinical studies reported that diabetic patients had lower glutathione contents in erythrocytes or plasma. Recently, selenium, an essential trace element with well-known antioxidant characteristics, has been found to have insulin-mimetic properties. But seldom information is available about the influence of selenium on glutathione changes induced by diabetes mellitus in animals. Therefore, this study was designed to compare the impacts of selenite treatment on glutathione (GSH) levels of blood and tissues such as brain, kidney, liver, spleen and testis in mice. Four groups were used in this study: a control group, a diabetic group, a selenite-treated normal group and a selenite-treated diabetic group. Selenite was administered to the mice for 4 weeks with an oral dose of 2 mg kg(-1) day(-1) by gavage. The blood glucose level, and GSH level in blood and tissues were determined. The results show that the selenite-treated diabetic group had significantly lower blood glucose levels than the diabetic group. Moreover, alloxan-induced diabetes significantly decreased GSH levels in blood, kidney, liver and testis compared to the controls. Selenite treatment of the diabetic mice only improved the GSH levels in liver and brain. On the other hand, selenite administered to the normal mice reduced GSH levels in the liver compared to the controls. In conclusion, this study suggests that selenite treatment of diabetic mice with an effective dose would be beneficial for the antioxidant system of liver and brain although it exerts a toxic effect on the liver of normal mice.