Introduction: One of the major causes of cataract in diabetes is oxidative stress induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS). Nowadays, new substances with antioxidative properties that may prevent cataract development are needed. One such substance is caffeine - an alkaloid with well-documented antioxidative activity.
Material and methods: The study was conducted on lenses obtained from female rats, divided into 3 groups: control rats; diabetic rats; diabetic rats treated with caffeine at a dose of 20 mg/kg p.o. Type 1 diabetes was induced by streptozotocin (60 mg/kg i.p.). After 4 weeks of caffeine administration, the rats were sacrificed, and the lenses were collected, weighed and homogenized in PBS. The homogenate was used for analysis of protein content, glutathione (GSH) concentration, advanced oxidation protein product (AOPP) concentration, malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration and the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx).
Results: The SOD, CAT and GPx activities were found to be higher in the lenses of diabetic rats. There were also increased MDA and AOPP concentrations as well as decreased GSH concentration. The administration of caffeine resulted in decreased activity of SOD, CAT and GPx. The treatment with caffeine also caused an increase of GSH concentration and a decrease of MDA and AOPP concentrations.
Conclusions: The results of the present study may be of relevance in determining the effect of caffeine on the processes induced by ROS in vivo. Further, they can be an indication for clinical observations aiming at the assessment of both preventive and therapeutic effects of caffeine in cataract.
Keywords: caffeine; diabetes; lenses; oxidative stress; rats; streptozotocin.