Vanadium has been shown to be beneficial in the oral treatment of animal models of type 1 and
type 2 diabetes. The aim of the study was to evaluate the short-term effects of
sodium metavanadate in prediabetic BB-DP rats. To do this, 96 rats were divided into 4 equal groups. Groups V1, V2, V3 were treated with
sodium metavanadate (0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 mg/ml respectively) and
sodium chloride (0.5 mg/ml) in
drinking water for 7 days. Group C received only
sodium chloride (0.5 mg/ml).
Blood glucose (BG),
glycosuria,
ketonuria,
body weight and insulinemia were determined. The age of onset of diabetes was significantly higher for groups V2, V3 compared to group C, (p<0.05) and depends on the
metavanadate concentration (V3 vs. V1, p=0.006). The incidence of diabetes was lower in the rats treated with
metavanadate than in the control group, but this difference was not statistically significant. In diabetic rats, the BG at the onset was higher in group C than in groups V, p<0.05. Insulinemia, at the onset of the treatment as well as immediately after its cessation showed a drop in the treatment groups, proportionally to the dosage of
vanadium, but later increased slowly and continuously until the end of the experiment. In conclusion,
metavanadate delays the development of diabetes in BB-DP rats, but does not prevent its onset. A milder form of diabetes occurs in diabetic rats treated with
metavanadate. The effects depend on the
metavanadate concentration and 0.2 mg/ml is preferable.