Oxidative Stress Indicators and the Effect of Chromium and Selenium in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Oxidative stress caused by increased glucose causes an imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants. Trivalent chromium can boost insulin action, and selenium acts as an antioxidant. This study aimed to investigate the effect of oxidative stress induced by diabetes and the antioxidant role of chromium and selenium in the care of diabetic oxidative stress.

30 types 2 diabetic patients and 25 healthy individuals participated in this study. Fasting blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and lipid profile was measured in all subjects with a biochemical autoanalyzer. Oxidative stress, glutathione (GSH), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) indices were performed with special kits. Also, chromium and selenium were measured by atomic absorption spectrometry. The results were analyzed using SPSS statistical software (version 19). The correlation between the obtained factors was evaluated using the Pearson test (version 6). (P<0.05) was considered significant.

(GSH) and (GPx) were respectively (4.04 ± 0.68 µM and 27.78 ± 4.35 U/ml) that were lower in the diabetic group compared to non-diabetic group (8.26 ± 0.65 and 41.28 ± 0.74). The amount of chromium and selenium in diabetic patients (7.8 ± 0.19 µg/L and 65.24 ± 4.05 µg/L), which is compared to healthy individuals decreased (10.7 ± 0.20 µg/L and 90.60 ± 1.72 µg/L). The P-value in all of them was less than 0.001.

It can be concluded that chromium and selenium deficiency, which are antioxidants, affect oxidative stress indices. Therefore, appropriate therapies to strengthen antioxidant defenses can play an important role in the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes.