Abstract
Boldine is a natural alkaloid with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. It reduces glycemia and decreases blood pressure in rats with type 1 diabetes. We have also studied whether boldine has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects in rats with type 2 diabetes and whether it can improve healing of their skin wounds, a serious comorbidity of type 2 diabetes. This work also compares lean and obese Zucker diabetic rats, including a comparison of both sexes. After skin excisions, the wounded animals received granules containing boldine ad libitum. The weights of rats, amount of consumed food and wound size were measured regularly. Scar and internal organs were removed and analyzed. Further, the tensile strength of the scar was tested and hydroxyproline content (a marker of collagen) measured. We have not confirmed previously published positive effects of boldine, but we observed important differences between gender and between genotypes. Male rats had higher body weight, liver, kidney and spleen than female rats. Furthermore, their wounds took longer to heal with bigger scar areas.