[Protective effect of indomethacin on alloxan-induced diabetes in rat]

Changes of concentration of serum glucose, insulin and glucagon induced by preadministration of indomethacin were observed in normal rats and diabetic rats induced by alloxan. The results demonstrated that the level of serum glucose in diabetic rats was lowered significantly after preadministration of indomethacin (10 mg/kg) dose-dependently. After preadministration of 5, 10, 15 mg/kg of indomethacin the level of serum glucose 48 h after injecting alloxan was decreased from the control value of 591.5 +/- 38.2 mg% to 559.1 +/- 53.2, 436 +/- 16.6 and 266.6 +/- 29.9 mg% respectively. The concentration of serum insulin was increased from the control 10.5 +/- 2.7 microU/ml to 31.9 +/- 7.0 microU/ml and glucagon from 550.0 +/- 27.0 pg/ml to 303.1 +/- 22.9 pg/ml after preadministration of 10 mg/kg indomethacin. Histologic observation showed that alloxan induced beta cell lesion in pancreatic islet could indeed be prevented by indomethacin to a significant extent.