Supplementation with vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) in diabetic rats: effects on the proximal colon

Neuropathy is one of the complications caused by diabetes mellitus (DM) which is directly related to the gastrointestinal manifestations of the disease. Antioxidant substances such as vitamin E may have an important role in the reduction of the neurological damages caused by DM.

The aim of this study was to evaluate if vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) in different concentrations perform any effects over the morphology of the intestinal wall and intrinsic innervation in the proximal colon of diabetic rats.

Methods: Thirty rats (90-day-old) were distributed into the following groups: N: normoglycemic NE1 and NE2: normoglycemic supplemented with vitamin E (0.1%) and (2%), respectively; D: diabetics; DE1 and DE2: diabetics supplemented with vitamin E (0.1%) and (2%), respectively. Animals received supplementation with vitamin E for 120 days, being killed when they were 210-day-old.

Proximal colon of every animal was submitted to histological processing in order to study the intestinal wall and the goblet cells and to whole mount preparations for the morphoquantitative study of the total myenteric population.

Results: Supplementation with vitamin E significantly reduced glycemia and the values of the glycated hemoglobin and preserved the number of myenteric neurons for animals in group DE2, without effects for the intestine area, thickness of the intestinal wall and muscular tunic.

Conclusions: It was concluded that vitamin E (2%) influenced the glycemic parameters evaluated and had a neuroprotective effect over the total myenteric population, however, morphometric characteristics of the intestinal wall were not affected.

Author: Luciana RoldiRenata PereiraEleandro TronchiniGabriela RizoCelia ScoarisJacqueline ZanoniMaria Natali
Credits/Source: BMC Gastroenterology 2009, 9:88

Published on: 2009-11-23

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