The Effect of Vanadium Citrate on the Metabolism of Proteins in Rats’ Blood with Alloxan-Induced Diabetes Mellitus

The effect of vanadium citrate on the content of total protein and its fractions, urea and creatinine, as well as the activity of ASAT, ALAT and alkaline phosphatase in the blood plasma of experimentally diabetic rats was studied. It is considered that vanadium salts possess insulin-like properties. The study of protein metabolism plays an important role in the violation of liver function associated with diabetes mellitus. Therefore, the aim of the studies was to find out the mechanisms of vanadium action on protein metabolism in the body of experimentally induced diabetic rats. Animals were divided into five groups: group I - control, II, III, IV and V – experimental one. Rats of the 1st and 2nd groups were given to drink clean water without additives, and animals of the 3rd 4th and 5th groups were given to drink water with the solution of vanadium citrate for a month. Experimental diabetes mellitus by means of intraperitoneal administration of a 5% solution of alloxan monohydrate in the amount of 150 mg / kg body weight was induced in animals of all the four study groups. Hyperglycemia was revealed by the measurement of blood glucose collected from the tail vein. The total protein was determined by Lowry's method, its fractions - by vertical electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gel plates. Determination of the content of urea, creatinine, aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase activity was performed on a biochemical analyzer. It was showed an increase in the level of urea, the activity of alkaline phosphatase, ASAT in the blood plasma of animals of the second in regard to the control group. There is a complex connection between the levels of liver enzymes, because they are genetically correlated with each other. Changes in the concentration of serum albumin, α-, β- and γ-globulins are supposed to be a diagnostic index of metabolic diseases, including diabetes mellitus. The studies found that the content of total protein and α-globulins decreased in the blood plasma of rats in the second research group, while the relative content of β-globulins increased and γ-globulin did not change significantly in regard to the control. The level of urea and creatinine in the blood plasma of rats of the 3rd 4th 5th groups in regard to the group the 2nd decreased. The activity of alkaline phosphatase, ACAT and ALT in the same groups in regard to the second group also decreased. In the conditions of watering vanadium citrate, in the blood plasma of rats of the 3rd and the 4th groups, the level of total protein increased, in comparison with the 2nd, while its level in the 5th group did not change reliably. Changes in the fractions of albumins, α-, β- and γ-globulins due to the effects of vanadium citrate were insignificant, however, the animals of groups of the 3rd and 5th showed a significant increase in the albumin content in regard to the 2nd group. The results of the studies demonstrate that vanadium citrate positively influenced the rat blood biochemical parameters under study, contributed to the approach of their level to the parameters of the control group animals. Thus, vanadium citrate can halt the complications associated with protein metabolism, which occur in diabetes mellitus. In the future, studies of the effect of various vanadium compounds on protein metabolism in the body of animals under various physiological and pathological conditions are planned.