The prevention of alloxan-induced diabetes in mice by dimethyl sulfoxide

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO, 7.3 g/kg) administered to mice prior to alloxan completely protected against the diabetogenic actions of 50 mg/kg alloxan. The same dose of DMSO provided a partial protection against 75 mg/kg alloxan. This protection against alloxan-induced diabetes is consistent with the scavenging of the hydroxyl radical by DMSO.