The effects of long term resveratrol treatment on serum nitrite/nitrate and nitrotyrosine levels of alloxan diabetic rabbits

Diabetes is a metabolic disease that increasingly affects to modern population. Cardiovascular system diseases, that concomitant with this metabolic disease, are the primer mortality reasons. In these cardiovascular diseases, a decrease in nitric oxide, released form endothelium of blood vessels plays an important role. It has been proven that resveratrol, one of the phenolic compounds that are known to be responsible for the antioxidant effect of red wine, possess improving effect on the nitric oxide production systemThe aim of this study is to find out whether resveratrol has any protective effect on the endothelial function that is disturbed by diabetes. For this purpose, diabetes is formed by intravenously injection of 100 mg/kg bw alloxan in rabbits. In treatment groups, resveratrol, at 5 and 50mg/L concentrations, is administrated in drinking water for 8 weeks. The effect of resveratrol on the productions of nitric oxide and superoxide is determined with the analysis of serum and aortic nitrite/nitrate and nitrotyrosine levels by using suitable ELISA kits. The possible another cardioprotective effect is investigated on lipid profile by measurement of total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL) and triglyceride levels with enzymatic analysis kitsDiabetes-induced decreases in serum and aortic nitrite/nitrate levels were partially restored after resveratrol treatment, but nitrotyrosine levels did not change. Serum total cholesterol levels are increased by resveratrol treatment most probably due to elevated HDL. There was no significant difference between LDL and trigliseride levels of the groups, after resveratrol treatment. These results indicated that resveratrol has improving effect on endothelial function and lipid profile that are impaired by diabetes.