<p>This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.</p> <p>Nonenzymatic glycation of proteins, leading to chemical
modification and cross-linking are of importance in the
pathology of diabetic complications.We studied the effect of
<italic>α</italic>-lipoic acid (LA) on the content and characteristics of the
protein collagen from skin of high-fructose fed rats. The
rats were divided into 4 groups of 6 each. Two groups of
rats were fed with a high fructose diet (60 g/100 g diet) and
administered either LA (35 mg/kg b.w., i.p) (FRU+LA) or
0.2 ml vehicle (saline) (FRU) for 45 days. The other 2 groups
were fed with control diet containing starch (60 g/100 g
diet) and administered either saline (CON) or lipoic acid
(CON+LA). The rats were maintained for 45 days and then
sacrificed. Plasma glucose, insulin, fructosamine, protein
glycation, and blood glycated hemoglobin (HbA<sub>1</sub>C) were
measured. Collagen was isolated from skin and the physicochemical
properties of collagen were studied. Fructose administration
caused accumulation of collagen in skin. Extensive
cross-linking was evidenced by enhanced glycation
and AGE-linked fluorescence. Increased peroxidation and
changes in physicochemical properties such as shrinkage
temperature, aldehyde content, solubililty pattern, susceptibility
to denaturing agents were observed in fructose-fed
rats. SDS gel pattern of collagen from these rats showed
elevated <italic>β</italic> component of type I collagen. These changes
were alleviated by the simultaneous administration of LA.
Administration of LA to fructose-fed rats had a positive
influence on both quantitative and qualitative properties of collagen. The results suggest a mechanism for the ability
of LA to delay diabetic complications.</p>
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Exp Diabesity Res. 2004; 5(4):237-244