Abstract
Objectives: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a spectrum of common metabolic disorders, arising from a variety of pathogenic mechanisms resulting in hyperglycemia that causes chronic micro- and macro-vascular complications. Vitamin C is structurally similar to glucose and can replace it in many chemical reactions and thus is effective in the prevention of non-enzymatic glycosylation of proteins. Hence, the present study taken up to see the effect of supplementation of Vitamin C on blood glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) along with metformin in experimentally-induced diabetic rabbits.
 Methods: Twenty-four adult New Zealand white rabbits (1.5–2.5 kg) were divided into four groups, each containing six rabbits. Group 1: Normal control (distilled water); Group 2: Metformin (23.33 mg/kg) is given orally; Group 3: Metformin (23.33 mg/kg) plus Vitamin C 250 mg are given orally; and Group 4: Metformin (23.33 mg/kg) plus Vitamin C 500 mg are given orally. Animals were treated for 30 days. The blood samples were collected on days 0 and 30 from the marginal ear vein of rabbits for the estimation of blood glucose and HbA1c levels.
 Results: Statistically analyzed by ANOVA test followed by post hoc Tukey’s test using GraphPad Prism software. Results shown that Vitamin C 500 mg oral supplementation with metformin had very highly significantly reduced HbA1c levels by 40.12% (p = 0.0001***) and blood glucose levels by 49.12% (p = 0.0003***), whereas Vitamin C 250 mg oral supplementation with metformin also significantly reduced HbA1c levels by 25.49% (p = 0.0001***) and blood glucose levels by 42.95% (p = 0.0026**) when compared to metformin alone, which reduced HbA1c levels by 22% (p = 0.0001***) and blood glucose levels by 39.58% (p = 0.0001***).
 Conclusion: Oral supplementation of Vitamin C 500 mg/250 mg to the metformin was superior in reducing HbA1c levels and blood glucose levels compared to metformin alone in rabbits. Hence, Vitamin C oral supplementation may be helpful in lowering blood glucose levels and HbA1c levels and improving glycemic control in Type 2 DM.
Highlights
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a spectrum of common metabolic disorders, arising from a variety of pathogenic mechanisms, all resulting in hyperglycemia
The present preclinical study evaluated the effect of supplementation of Vitamin C on blood glucose and HbA1c levels in “Alloxan-induced diabetic rabbit model” for of 30 days
Supplementation of Vitamin C 500 mg to the metformin was superior in reducing HbA1c levels and blood glucose levels compared to metformin alone in rabbits
Summary
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a spectrum of common metabolic disorders, arising from a variety of pathogenic mechanisms, all resulting in hyperglycemia. The number of individuals with diabetes is rising rapidly throughout the world. Both genetic and environmental factors contribute to its pathogenesis, which involve insufficient insulin secretion, reduced responsiveness to endogenous or exogenous insulin, increased glucose production, and/or abnormalities in fat and protein metabolism. The major sources of the morbidity of diabetes are the chronic complications that arise from prolonged hyperglycemia, including retinopathy, neuropathy, nephropathy, and cardiovascular disease [2]. According to the World Health Organization criteria, the prevalence of known diabetes was 5.6% and 2.7% among urban and rural areas, respectively [5]
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