THE EFFECT AT CHARD (BETA-VULGARIS L. VAR. CICLA) ON THE SKIN OF STREPTOZOTOCIN-INDUCED DIABETIC RATS

Chard (Beta vulgaris L. var, cicla) is one of the plants used as hypog lycaemic agent by diabetics in Turkey and it has been reported to redu ce blood glucose. The purpose of this study was to investigate the eff ect of feeding chard on diabetes induced impairments in rat skins. Unc ontrolled induced diabetes caused significant increases in nonenzymati c glycosylation of skin proteins, lipid peroxidation and blood glucose . Administration of chard extract inhibited these effects except the i ncrease in lipid peroxidation. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed no significant differences in any protein bands between any o f the groups. The data indicate that the use of chard may be effective in preventing or at least retarding the development of some diabetic complications.