title: The Effects of Pycnogenol® as Add-on Drug to Metformin Therapy in Diabetic Rats.
abstract: The progression of diabetes mellitus leads in time to the development of serious cardiovascular complications. Pycnogenol® (PYC) belongs to strong antioxidants that may interfere with different pathways playing an important role in diseases associated with oxidative stress. Metformin (MET), commonly used antidiabetic drug, has cardio-protective effects via activation of AMP kinase (AMPK). In our study, we examined the effects of PYC as add-on drug to metformin therapy in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Our results revealed that both used agents, PYC and MET, showed improvement of blood glucose levels, vascular reactivity, left ventricular hypertrophy, expression of AMPK, glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) and calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) in left ventricle of the hearts. However, the combination of these interventions has failed to possess higher efficacy. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Pharmacy, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Stanislava
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7174-1939
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jankyova
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Pharmacy, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Dominika
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rubintova
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Pharmacy, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Lenka
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Janosikova
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Pharmacy, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Panek
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Pharmacy, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Tatiana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Foltanova
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Pharmacy, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kralova
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008687:Metformin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010936:Plant Extracts; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013311:Streptozocin
chemical_list: D005419:Flavonoids; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts; C024070:pycnogenols; D013311:Streptozocin; D008687:Metformin
keywords: AMPK; GLUT4; Pycnogenol®; diabetes; glycaemia; metformin