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Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2004 Jan;229(1):33-9. Links


Ingestion of proanthocyanidins derived from cacao inhibits diabetes-induced
cataract formation in rats.

Osakabe N, Yamagishi M, Natsume M, Yasuda A, Osawa T.

Health and Bioscience Laboratory, Meiji Seika Kaisha Ltd., 5-3-1, Chiyoda
Sakado 350-0289, Japan.

Proanthocyanidins derived from cacao (CLP) have various antipathophysiological
functions. We have tested whether dietary supplementation with CLP prevents
cataract formation in rats with diabetes induced by streptozotocin (STZ), using
histological, histochemical, and biochemical ****yses. Starting at 7 days after
the streptozotocin challenge, the animals were fed either a normal diet or a
diet containing 0.5% w/w CLP over 10 weeks. There were no significant
differences in plasma and urine glucose concentrations, plasma fructose amines,
and plasma thiobarbituric reactive substances (TBARS) between the two dietary
groups. Antioxidant status as assessed by measuring lipid peroxide production
in plasma in response to azocompounds was lower in the STZ-rats fed control
diet than in animals fed CLP. Opacity was first detected in the lenses of the
control dietary group 5 weeks after STZ injection and cataracts had developed
in the majority of these animals by 10 weeks. These changes were rarely seen in
the STZ/CLP diet group. Histological examinations of the eyes of the
STZ-treated normal diet group revealed focal hyperplasia of the lens epithelium
and liquefaction of cortical fibers. There were similar but considerably less
severe changes in the animals fed CLP. Hydroxynonenal (HNE), a marker of
oxidative stress, was detected immunohistochemically in the lenses of the
STZ-treated normal diet group, but not of those receiving CLP. Our findings
suggest that CLP inhibits diabetes-induced cataract formation possibly by
virtue of its antioxidative activity.

PMID: 14709774 [PubMed - in process]

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