Assessment of the activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Ekpoma, South-south Nigeria

Abstract

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) is an enzyme in the  pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) which reduces NADP to NADPH while oxidizing glucose-6-phosphate. In turn, NADPH then provides reducing equivalents needed for the conversion of oxidized glutathione to reduced glutathione, which protects against oxidant injury. The activity of G-6-PD was determined in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients and control subjects using enzymatic colourimetric method. A total of one hundred (100) subjects consisting of sixty (60) diabetes mellitus patients (test) and forty (40) apparently healthy subjects (control) were involved in the study. The mean ± standard deviation of G-6-PD activity in type 2 diabetic patients was 2.53±1.34ì/g Hb while the control was 14.44±3.27µ/g Hb. The results
showed that G-6-PD activity in type 2 diabetic patients was significantly lower (p<0.05) compared to the control subjects. This finding therefore suggests that there is a decrease in G-6-PD activity in type 2 diabetic patients. For that reason, monitoring of G-6-PD activity may be an  important tool in preventing diabetic injury due to inappropriate  antioxidation process.

Keywords: Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glutathione, diabetes mellitus, oxidant, oxidative stress