Oxidative stress is implicated as an important mechanism by which diabetes 
causes nephropathy. Oxykine is the cantaloupe melon extract rich in vegetal 
superoxide dismutase covered by polymeric films of wheat matrix gliadin. In this 
study, we examined whether chronic oral administration of oxykine could prevent 
the progression of diabetic nephropathy induced by oxidative stress using 
preclinical rodent model of type 2 diabetes. We used female db/db mice and their 
non-diabetic db/m littermates. The mice were divided into the following three 
groups: non-diabetic db/m; diabetic db/db, and diabetic db/db treated with 
oxykine. Blood glucose level, body weight, urinary albumin, and urinary 
8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) were measured during the experiments. 
Histological and 8-OHdG immunohistochemical studies were preformed on 12 weeks 
from the beginning of treatment. After 12 weeks of treatment, the levels of 
blood glucose and the body weight were not significantly different between the 
oxykine-treated group and the non-treated db/db group, however both groups kept 
significantly high levels rather than db/m mice. The relative mesangial area 
calculated by mesangial area/total glomerular area ratio was significantly 
ameliorated in the oxykine treated group compared with non-treated db/db group. 
The increases in urinary albumin and 8-OHdG at 12 weeks of treatment were 
significantly inhibited by chronic treatment with oxykine. The 8-OHdG 
immunoreactive cells in the glomeruli of non-treated db/db mice were more 
numerous than that of oxykine-treated db/db mice. In this study, treatment of 
oxykine ameliorated the progression and acceleration of diabetic nephropathy for 
rodent model of type 2 diabetes. These results indicated that the oxykine 
reduced the diabetes-induced oxidative stress and renal mesangial cell injury. 
In conclusion, oxykine might be a novel approach for the prevention of diabetes 
nephropathy.