| Abstrakt: |
Introduction. The use of lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) in the management of human immunodeficiency virus has been associated with alterations in lipid and glucose levels. This study was designed to investigate the effects of pretreatments with melatonin (MT) and alpha lipoic acid (ALA) on LPV/r-induced serum levels of triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C) and glucose (GL) levels in male albino rats. Effects of MT and ALA were also evaluated on baseline serum levels of the above parameters. Male albino rats used for this study were orally administered with LPV/r (22.9/5.71-91.4/22.9 mg/kg), MT (10 mg/kg) and ALA (10 mg/kg) for 30 days. Material and methods. Animals were harvested at the end of drug treatment and serum levels of the above parameters were evaluated. Treatment with MT and ALA significantly (p < 0.05) decreased baseline serum levels of TG, TC, VLDL-C, LDL-C and GL but, treatment with LPV/r significantly (p < 0.05) and in a dose-dependent manner increased serum levels of these parameters when compared to the control. However, pretreatments with individual doses of MT and ALA prior to treatment with LPV/r decreased serum levels of TG, TC, VLDL-C, LDL-C and GL with more decreases observed in animals pretreated with combined doses of these antioxidants. Conclusion. Based on findings in this study, MT and ALA could be used as remedies for LPV/r-induced alterations in lipid and glucose levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
