COMPARATIVE STUDY: N-ACETYLCYSTEINE AND METFORMIN ON ATHEROGENIC INDEX IN DIABETIC RATS

Novera Sohail Bajwa; Zoobia Irum; Mehtab Munir; Syed Muzaffar Ali; Mushayada Irshad; Qurra-Tul- Ain Haider

doi:10.46903/gjms/24.1.2267

COMPARATIVE STUDY: N-ACETYLCYSTEINE AND METFORMIN ON ATHEROGENIC INDEX IN DIABETIC RATS

Novera Sohail Bajwa, Zoobia Irum, Mehtab Munir, Syed Muzaffar Ali, Mushayada Irshad, Qurra-Tul- Ain Haider

Abstract

Background: Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a global health issue with severe systemic health effects. A key driver of these complications is prolonged high blood sugar, which enhances the lipolysis and leads to dyslipidemia. Atherogenic index plasma (AIP) significantly heightens the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVS) in diabetic patients. The objectives of this study were to check the novel use of N- acetylcysteine (NAC) in diabetic rats and to evaluate the comparative effects of NAC and Met on diabetes induced rats.

Materials & Methods: This randomized control trial study was undertaken at the Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Army Medical College Rawalpindi in association with the National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad from August 2021 to October 2021. There was a total of twenty-five rats, with five in each group randomized. An intraperitoneal (IP) injection of Streptozotocin (STZ) (35 mg/kg) was given to induce a diabetic condition in the animals. Rats with blood sugar levels in excess of 300 mg/dl after 48 hours were considered to be diabetic. The rats with Diabetes were used as a diabetic control group in one group while the remaining DM rats in three groups were treated with N-acetylcysteine (NAC), Metformin (Met), and Metformin plus N-acetylcysteine (Met + NAC) respectively. The treatment lasted for four weeks. The Atherogenic Index plasma (AIP) of the groups was compared at the end of the trial period. In the statistical analysis, the whole data array was handled with the SPSS 25.0 statistical software package. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA Test), which compares the variations within all the groups, has been employed, followed by post hoc Tukey test.

Results: There was a total of twenty-five rats, with five in each group randomized. There was a marked improvement in the Atherogenic index plasma (AIP) for the N-acetylcysteine (NAC) group, as well as for the Metformin + N- acetylcysteine (Met + NAC) group having a p value <0.001in these groups.

Conclusion: The use of antioxidants, including N-acetylcysteine, caused a significant decrease in the Atherogenic Index Plasma in a diabetes-induced model produced by Streptozotocin.

Keywords

Atherogenic Index Plasma; Cardiovascular Diseases; Dyslipidemias; Hyperglycemia; Metformin; N-acetylcysteine; Streptozotocin.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.46903/gjms/24.1.2267