Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

This site is currently in beta, and your feedback is helping shape its ongoing development.

The enhancement of the hyperglycemic effect of S-nitrosoglutathione and S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine by vitamin C in an animal model

Published by National Institutes of Health | U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | Metadata Last Checked: September 07, 2025 | Last Modified: 2025-09-06
Background S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) and S-nitroso-N-acetlypenicillamine (SNAP) are two of the most common sources of nitric oxide (NO) in the biomedical field. Vitamin C has been known to accelerate the decomposition of GSNO and SNAP increasing the release and availability of NO which is cytotoxic at non-physiological concentrations. The study investigates any potential detrimental effect of vitamin C and GSNO, vitamin C and SNAP on glucose metabolism in normotensive and normoglycemic dogs. Results The results showed that administration of vitamin C (50 mg/kg) and GSNO (35 mg/kg & 50 mg/kg), or vitamin C (50 mg/kg) and SNAP (10 mg/kg) to overnight fasted dogs resulted in significant elevation of the blood glucose levels, attaining maximum level at the 2.0 or 2.5 h time point postprandially. The elevated blood glucose levels were due to significant reduction in plasma insulin levels in the dogs treated with vitamin C and GSNO, or vitamin C and SNAP (P < 0.05). The decreased insulin response was associated with significant elevation of nitric oxide produced from GSNO and SNAP co-administered with vitamin C, as assessed by plasma nitrate/nitrite levels. Conclusions The results indicate that enhanced NO release by vitamin C affects postprandial blood glucose and plasma insulin levels and the reduced glucose tolerance is mainly due to impaired insulin release. The clinical relevance of the findings of this study suggest that hypertensive diabetic patients treated with GSNO or SNAP, who are on vitamin C supplements may be more predisposed to further decrease in their glycemic control.

Find Related Datasets

Click any tag below to search for similar datasets

data.gov

An official website of the GSA's Technology Transformation Services

Looking for U.S. government information and services?
Visit USA.gov