Effects of Glycaemic Status on Plasma Levels of Calcium, Chromium, Copper, Iron, Magnesium, Selenium and Zinc in Diabetic Rats

There is increasing evidence of the involvement of minerals in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus and its complications. In order to determine the effects of glycaemic status on the plasma levels of calcium, chromium, copper, iron, magnesium, selenium and zinc, 24 albino rats weighing 105-162 g grouped into 4 {non-diabetic control (NDC), diabetic control (DC), and diabetic treated with 10mg/Kg body weight (DT10) and 20mg/Kg body weight (DT20) of glucophage respectively}, were investigated. In addition to fasting plasma glucose, plasma levels of elements were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Results show that diabetic rats had lower levels of the elements in comparison to their non-diabetic counterparts but only magnesium {37.5 (1.9) vs. 48.8 (3.4); p = 0.033)}, copper {13.5 (0.9) vs. 24.9 (0.7); p = 0.032)} and zinc {34.9 (0.7) vs. 58.2 (0.6); p = 0.013)} were statistically significant. Again, higher levels of the elements were observed in diabetic treated rats when compared to the diabetic control but only copper {22.5 (0.3) vs. 13.5 (0.9), p = 0.043)} and zinc {49.6 (0.7) vs. 34.9 (0.7), p = 0.028)} were found to be significant, at higher dosage of the antihyperglycaemic agent. Plasma glucose was negatively correlated with copper (r =-0.273; p = 0.017), magnesium (r = -0.212; p = 0.024 and zinc (r = -0.245; p = 0.019), with no significant relationship observed among the elements. We conclude that hyperglycaemia of diabetes alters plasma mineral levels with plasma copper, magnesium and zinc being more responsive to alterations in glycaemic status than calcium, chromium, iron and selenium.