Effect of antioxidants L-ascorbic acid and alpha-tocopherol supplementation in nickel exposed hyperglycemic rats.

Nickel-induced hyperglycemia in rats under both acute and subchronic exposure conditions could be due to increased hepatic glycogenolysis, increased pancreatic release of glucagon, decreased peripheral utilization of glucose, or gluconeogenesis. We studied the effect of acute and subchronic nickel sulfate treatment on Wister strain male albino rats simultaneously treated with combined L-ascorbic acid and alpha-tocopherol. The simultaneous treatment with L-ascorbic acid or alpha-tocopherol appears to be beneficial for regulating glucose homeostasis in rats. A significant rise of blood glucose level was also observed with L-ascorbic acid supplementation alone, but not in the case of alpha-tocopherol supplementation alone.