Superoxide radical generation by Amadori compounds.

Several D-sugars were incubated with L-lysine or with L-arginine for 10 days. The resulting compounds are able to reduce nitrobluetetrazolium (NBT). This is prevented by superoxide dismutase (SOD), indicating that the superoxide radical is generated by the resulting Amadori compounds. The formation of superoxide radical in vivo, as a result of nonenzymatic glycosylation of proteins, may be considered to be a contributory factor to the appearance of chronic complications of diabetes.