Correlation of Antioxidants Enzymes Activity with Fasting Blood Glucose in Diabetic Patients in Sokoto, Nigeria

Several studies have reported the presence of oxidative stress in diabetes mellitus as a result of increased generation of reactive oxygen species and diminished antioxidant defence. The current study evaluated the plasma activities of three antioxidant enzymes- catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in type 2 diabetic patients and non-diabetic control subjects. A total of 266 subjects were recruited for the study, 165 type 2 diabetic patients and 101 non-diabetic control subjects from Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Maryam Abacha Women and Children Hospital, and Specialist Hospital, Sokoto. All the three antioxidant enzyme activities were assayed in plasma using colourimetric enzymatic techniques. FBG was measured using glucose oxidase method. The mean activities of CAT, GPX and SOD, were significantly lower (p< 0.05, p< 0.001 and p<0.001) in diabetic patients when compared to non-diabetic control subjects respectively. The mean activities of CAT, GPX and SOD were correlated with fasting blood sugar. The mean activity of SOD was positively correlated while CAT and GPX were negatively correlated with fasting blood sugar. These findings confirm that diabetic patients have low activities of the antioxidant enzymes compared to the non-diabetic control subjects. Periodic assay of the activities of these enzymes in diabetic patients as adjunct biochemical analytes in monitoring is suggested.