Department of Clinical and Molecular Biomedicine, Section of Pharmacology and Biochemistry, University of Catania, Viale Andrea Doria 6, Catania, Italy.
J Diabetes Res. 2013;2013:432695. doi: 10.1155/2013/432695. Epub 2013 May 23.
Diabetic retinopathy is a complex condition where inflammation and oxidative stress represent crucial pathways in the pathogenesis of the disease. Aim of the study was to investigate the effects of a fortified extract of red berries, Ginkgo biloba and white willow bark containing carnosine and α-lipoic acid in early retinal and plasma changes of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced by a single streptozotocin injection in Sprague Dawley rats. Diabetics and nondiabetic (control) rats were treated daily with the fortified extract for the ten days. Retina samples were collected and analyzed for their TNF-α and VEGF content. Moreover, plasma oxidative stress was evaluated by thiobarbituric acid reacting substances (TBARS). Increased TNF-α and VEGF levels were observed in the retina of diabetic rats. Treatment with the fortified extract significantly lowered retinal cytokine levels and suppressed diabetes-related lipid peroxidation. These data demonstrate that the fortified extract attenuates the degree of retinal inflammation and plasma lipid peroxidation preserving the retina in early diabetic rats.
糖尿病性视网膜病变是一种复杂的疾病，其中炎症和氧化应激是疾病发病机制中的关键途径。本研究的目的是研究含有肌肽和α-硫辛酸的红莓、银杏和白柳树皮强化提取物对链脲佐菌素诱导的糖尿病大鼠早期视网膜和血浆变化的影响。糖尿病通过单次链脲佐菌素注射诱导 Sprague Dawley 大鼠。糖尿病和非糖尿病（对照）大鼠每天用强化提取物治疗 10 天。收集视网膜样本并分析其 TNF-α 和 VEGF 含量。此外，通过硫代巴比妥酸反应物质 (TBARS) 评估血浆氧化应激。糖尿病大鼠视网膜中 TNF-α 和 VEGF 水平升高。用强化提取物治疗可显著降低视网膜细胞因子水平，并抑制与糖尿病相关的脂质过氧化。这些数据表明，强化提取物可减轻早期糖尿病大鼠视网膜炎症和血浆脂质过氧化的程度，从而保护视网膜。
