Pancreatic lipid peroxidation in alloxan-induced diabetes mellitus

The time-course of pancreatic lipid peroxidation and reduced glutathione, and blood glucose were studied in adult male CD-1 mice after each of three sequential injections of alloxan, administered at intervals of 48 h. Twenty four hours after alloxan administration an increment of blood glucose and pancreatic lipoperoxidation was observed. Lipoperoxidation partially recovered, while blood glucose was increased after the third administration to a value of 150 mg/100 ml. Pancreas reduced glutathione content remained without any significant change throughout the experiment. These results suggest that the establishment of alloxan-induced diabetes is preceded by an increment in pancreatic lipid peroxidation that could be associated with permanent damage to pancreatic tissue.