Protective role of glibenclamide against nicotinamide-streptozotocin induced nuclear damage in diabetic Wistar rats

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the protective effect of glibenclamide against the experimental diabetes-induced nuclear damage in Wistar rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The anti-mutagenic effect of glibenclamide (0.5, 5 and 50 mg/kg, p.o daily for 4 weeks) was evaluated against the nicotinamide (NA)-streptozotocin (STZ) induced type-2 diabetes mellitus using bone marrow micronucleus and sperm abnormalities tests. The antioxidant status was tested by estimating the serum levels of lipid peroxidation (LPO), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). RESULTS: The results indicated that glibenclamide at 50 mg/kg decreased the frequency of micronuclei in erythrocytes (P < 0.05) and sperm shape abnormality (P < 0.01) besides enhancing the antioxidant status (P < 0.05) in the diabetic rats. However, glibenclamide treatment did not enhance the polychromatic and normochromatic erythrocytes (P/N) ratio and sperm count in the diabetic condition. CONCLUSION: The observations indicate that the glibenclamide has anti-mutagenic potential which could be related to the antioxidant effect and might also possess anti-proliferative property.