Abstract: AimTo study the hypoglycemic effect of bis (α-furancarboxylato) oxovanadium (IV) (VO-FA) in normal rats and streptozotocin (STZ)-diabetic rats. MethodsRats were injected intraperitoneally STZ 50 mg·kg^-1 to induce diabetes. Blood glucose, glycohemoglobin, glycogen and serum insulin were observed after administering intragastrically VO-FA for four weeks. ResultsAfter 2 weeks administration, VO-FA reduced the blood glucose in STZ-rats (P<001) dose-dependently, and up to 4 weeks the blood glucose was normalized (below 11.1 mmol·L^-1) in some of STZ-rats, whereas did not decrease in normal rats. After administration of VO-FA at the dosage of 568 and 113.6 mg·kg^-1, the serum insulin levels were lowered in normal rats and STZ-rats, respectively. Moreover, VO-FA reduced glycohemoglobin, improved the glucose tolerance, and increased the liver glycogen and muscle glycogen contents in STZ-rats in a dose-dependent manner (P<0.05, P<0.01), but not in normal rats. ConclusionVO-FA could improve the glycometabolism in STZ-rats, but not in normal rats.