Effect of rosiglitazone and nateglinide on serum glucose and lipid profile alone or in combination with the biguanide metformin in diabetic rats.

UNLABELLED: This study was designed to investigate the effect of 1 month treatment with nateglinide, rosiglitazone, metformin and their different combinations on streptozotocin (STZ) diabetic rats.

METHODS: Diabetes was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of STZ at a dose 55 mg kg(-1). The plasma glucose, total lipid, cholesterol, triglyceride and protein components were measured before and 15 and 30 days after the administration of the antidiabetic agents.

RESULTS: After the treatment, a significant reduction was observed in fasting blood glucose levels in all groups. Rosiglitazone or metformin were found to exhibit a hypolipidaemic effect in diabetic rats when administered alone or in combination. In comparison, nateglinide, when used alone, resulted in a significant increase in cholesterol and total lipid levels. This effect was masked when nateglinide was administered concurrently with metformin and hypolipidaemic effect was noticed.

CONCLUSIONS: Results from this study suggest that compared with nateglinide, rosiglitazone has a more favorable effect on the lipid profile in STZ-induced diabetes in rats.