A comparative study on the effect of homobrassinolide and gibberellic acid on lipid peroxidation and antioxidant status in normal and diabetic rats.

Dietary content of phytohormones may potentially influence metabolic processes in animal cells. This study therefore aimed to investigate the effect of two plant growth regulators homobrassinolide (HB) and gibberellic acid (GBA) on the antioxidant defense status and lipid peroxidation level in the tissues of normal and streptozotocin- induced diabetic rats. Normal and diabetic rats (Albino -wistar strain) were administered 50 microg HB and GBA intradermally each day for seven days and their tissue and blood levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), 4-hydroxy-2-nonenol (4-HNE), reduced glutathione (GSH) content and catalase (CAT) activity were determined. Subchronic treatment of rats with HB reduced lipid perioxidation and elevated antioxidant defense whereas GBA caused enhancement of lipid peroxidation and reduction of antioxidant defense in treated animals compared to the control rats.