EFFECT OF GOSSYPIN, A FLAVONOID, ON THE FORMATION OF GALACTOSE-INDUCED CATARACTS IN RATS

Oral administration of a flavonoid gossypin, an aldose reductase inhibitor, effectively delayed the onset of cataract formation in the galactosemic rats. It also produced a significant decrease in the accumulation of lens galactitol in these animals. These observations confirm the earlier reports that the lens aldose reductase plays a key role in the initiation of the cataractous process during galactosemia and suggest that flavonoids may be useful against the ophthalmic manifestations initiated by the accumulation of polyols in the lens. © 1979.