Rutin and quercetin enhance glucose uptake in L6 myotubes under oxidative stress induced by tertiary butyl hydrogen peroxide

Scientific evidence suggests a strong link between the oxidative stress-induced pathways and onset of diabetes and its complications. The present study evaluates the antidiabetic potential of the flavonoids, rutin and its metabolite quercetin under oxidative stress induced by tertiary butyl hydrogen peroxide (TBHP). Our results demonstrate that reactive oxygen species generated by TBHP decreased markedly in the L6 cells on preincubation with flavonoids in a dose-dependent manner and remarkably retrieved the glutathione level which was drastically decreased on oxidative challenge. These flavonoids were also found to prevent lipid peroxidation in L6 myoblast. Flavonoids increased glucose following chronic and acute pretreatment in the presence of oxidative stress. Increased glucose uptake in L6 myotubes was attributed to GLUT 4 translocation, the most downstream factor in the insulin signalling cascade, which increased two to threefold on chronic pretreatment of quercetin (10 μM) and rutin (100 μM).