Effects of SOD/PEG and soy flour on insulin sensitivity of blood platelets of atherogenic dieted rabbits

Abstract

The effects of antioxidant superoxide dismutase (SOD) injections and of SOD rich soybean flour were studied in New Zealand strain, male rabbits. The animals were fed an atherogenic diet (AD) of 2% Cholesterol, 6% Corn Oil and 92% Purina Rabbit Chow, for 5 weeks prior to starting the experiments using 3 experimental groups of 5 animals. Group I AD Controls –theADC group‐fed AD, Group II fed AD and injected with 2,000units SOD‐PEG −2 x/week‐IP‐ (approximately 11,000 units/gm hemoglobin) ‐ the AD‐SOD group, and Group III was fed AD with 5% SOD rich soybean flour added‐the SF+AD group. The treatments lasted for 5 additional weeks before the animals were sacrificed. Sensitivity to insulin was measured in blood platelets in each group by assaying their glucose uptake following treatment with insulin. Blood plasma and platelets were also assayed for cholesterol and phospholipid. levels. Mean glucose assays of insulin treated platelets from AD‐SOD rabbits measured 8.2 mg/dl of glucose vs 4.5 mg/dl from ADC .platelets‐an 82.2% increase. SF+AD platelets registered a 10.1% increase in insulin sensitivity vs ADC samples. Mean cholesterol levels ( mg/dl ) in blood platelets diminished by 18.8% in the AD‐SOD group and 10.7% in the SF+AD platelets compared to the ADC values. Mean plasma cholesterol levels fell by 16.8% in the AD‐SOD and 19.1% in SF+AD vs ADC plasma. Mean phospholipid levels (mg%) showed a decrease of 12.5% in AD‐SOD platelets and 9.2% in SF+AD platelets vs those in ADC assays. Mean phospholipid levels also fell in AD‐SOD by 17.3% and by 15.8% in SF+AD vs the ADC control values.