• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.148-153
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• 2015

Allium hookeri is a plant species native to India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and China. The plant is widely cultivated in Korea lately as a medicinal food item. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of Allium hookeri (A. hookeri) on lipid metabolism in Type II diabetic mice (n=8/group, 5 groups). High fat diets with dextrin as a positive control (Dex), leaf (AL), root (AR), and fermented root (FAR) at 3% of diet were fed to all experimental mouse, respectively for 8 weeks. Body weight gain, liver and epididymal fat weights, and excreted fecal lipid levels were measured. Serum and hepatic lipid profiles were analyzed, and fat accumulation in liver was evaluated. In this study, body weight gain and epididymal fat weight were lower in the FAR group, while serum HDL-cholesterol level and excreted fecal total lipid and triglyceride levels were higher in AL or FAR groups. These results suggest that A. hookeri, specially fermented root can be a useful food item to control lipid metabolism in diabetic mice.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.223-229
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• 2019

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by insulin resistance (IR). T2DM is correlated with obesity and most T2DM medications have been developed for enhancing insulin sensitivity. Silk protein fibroin (SPF) from spiders has been suggested as an attractive biomaterial for medical purposes. We generated transgenic rice (TR) expressing SPF and fed it to diabetic $BKS.Cg-m+/+Lepr^{db}$ mice to monitor the changes in blood glucose levels and adipose tissue proteins associated with energy metabolism and insulin signaling. In the present study, the adipocyte size in abdominal fat in TR-SPF-fed mice was remarkably smaller than that of the control. Whereas the adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-activated protein kinase and insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) protein levels were increased in abdominal adipose tissues after TR-SPF feeding, levels of six-transmembrane protein of prostate 2 (STAMP2) proteins decreased. Phosphorylation of AMPK at threonine 172 and IRS1 at serine 307 and tyrosine 632 were both increased in adipose tissues from TR-SPF-fed mice. Increased expression and phosphorylation of IRS1 at both serine 307 and tyrosine 632 in adipose tissues indicated that adipocytes obtained from abdominal fat in TR-SPF-fed mice were more susceptible to insulin signaling than that of the control. STAMP2 protein levels decreased in adipose tissues from TR-SPF-fed mice, indicating that STAMP2 proteins were reducing adipocytes that were undergoing lipolysis. Taken together, this study showed that TR-SPF was effective in reducing blood glucose levels in diabetic mice and that concurrent lipolysis in abdominal adipocytes was associated with alterations of AMPK, IRS1, and STAMP2. Increased IRS1 expression and its phosphorylation by TR-SFP were considered to be particularly important in the induction of lipolysis in adipocytes, as well as in reducing blood glucose levels in this animal model.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.1012-1018
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• 2010

The aim of this study was to determine whether Alzheimer's amyloid precursor protein (APP) is dysregulated in adipose tissues of C57BL/6 male mice by high-fat diet (HFD) induced obesity, aging, or streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes. APP mRNA expression was examined by quantitative real-time PCR (QPCR) in subcutaneous (SAT) and epididymal adipose tissues (EAT) from mice in 8 different condition groups. By combining conditions of age (16 weeks/26 weeks of age), diet (normal diet (ND)/high-fat diet), and induction of diabetes (non-diabetic/diabetic), 88 mice were divided into 8 different groups. QPCR demonstrated that APP expression in SAT was significantly increased by about two-fold in HFD-induced obese mice compared to both 16 week-old and 26 week-old mice in the ND group (16 weeks p=0.001; 26 weeks p<0.0001), but no changes in EAT was found. Particular effects of aging on APP gene expression were not observed in either adipose tissue depots. Significantly decreased APP expression was found in SAT in STZ-induced diabetic mice fed on ND or HFD at 16 weeks of age (ND p<0.05; HFD p<0.01). Linear regression analysis demonstrated that APP expression levels correlated with body weight in both the non-diabetic group (R=0.657, p<0.0001, n=39) and the diabetic group (R=0.508, p=<0.0001, n=49), but did not correlate with plasma glucose levels, which suggests that decreased APP expression in STZ-induced diabetic mice is most likely due to weight loss rather than hyperglycemia. These data confirm APP dysregulation by weight changes in humans and suggest a possible role linking midlife obesity with the later development of amyloidogenesis in the brain of older patients with Alzheimer's disease.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.332-337
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• 2006

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a chronic and hard to control disease. In order to develop the therapeutic agent for type 2 DM, many researchers investigated natural products using an in vitro and in vivo assay. In this study, we tried to explore the anti-diabetic activity and mechanisms of ginsam, which is a vinegar-processed ginseng radix. The db/db mice were randomly divided into four groups. The diabetes control (DC) group was orally administrated with distilled water, ginseng radix (GR) or ginsam (GS) was administrated orally at a dose of 150 mg/kg, and the positive control group was orally injected with metformin (MET) at a dose of 300 mg/kg for 5 weeks in db/db mice and measured body weight and blood glucose level every week. All treatment groups decreased the plasma glucose levels compared with diabetic control and GS group significantly lowered the insulin resistance index. GS group also reduced the plasma lipid levels mainly due to reduce the lipogenesis and increase the lipolysis in the fat tissue. In addition, GS group increased the GLUT4 mRNA expression levels in the fat and muscle tissues by 10 fold probably due to increase a $PPAR_{-\gamma}$ mRNA expression in fat tissue. Taken together, GS showed the anti-hyperglycemic and anti-hyperlipidemic activities and those activities may ascribe to over-expression of GLUT4 mRNA level and decrease the lipogenesis in fat tissue.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.322-327
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• 2012

This study investigated the hypothesis that a sorghum extract exerts anti-diabetic effects through a mechanism that improves insulin sensitivity via peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-${\gamma}$) from adipose tissue. Seven C57BL/6 mice were fed an AIN-93M diet with fat consisting of 10% of total energy intake (LF) for 14 weeks, and 21 mice were fed a high-fat AIN diet with 60% of calories derived from fat (HF). From week 8, the HF diet-fed mice were orally administered either saline (HF group), 0.5% (0.5% SE group), or 1% sorghum extract (1% SE group) for 6 weeks (n = 7/group). Perirenal fat content was significantly lower in the 0.5% SE and 1% SE groups than that in the HF mice. Levels of total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, and the area under the curve for glucose were significantly lower in mice administered 0.5% SE and 1% SE than those in HF mice. Serum insulin level was significantly lower in mice administered 1% SE than that in HF mice or those given 0.5% SE. PPAR-${\gamma}$ expression was significantly higher, whereas the expression of tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ was significantly lower in mice given 1% SE compared to those in the HF mice. Adiponectin expression was also significantly higher in mice given 0.5% SE and 1% SE than that in the HF mice. These results suggest that the hypoglycemic effect of SE may be related with the regulation of PPAR-${\gamma}$-mediated metabolism in this mouse model.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.77-107
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• 2018

Objectives : In present study, therefore, possible beneficial pharmacological activities of standard potato protein extracts (SPE) were observed on the mild diabetic obese mice. Methods : After end of 12 weeks of continuous oral administrations of three different dosages of SPE 400, 200 and 100 mg/kg, or metformin 250 mg/kg, analyzed the hepatoprotective, hypolipidemic, hypoglycemic, nephroprotective and anti-obesity effects, separately. In addition, liver antioxidant defense systems were additionally measured with lipid metabolism-related genes expressions and hepatic glucose-regulating enzyme activities for action mechanism. Results : All of diabetes and related complications including obesity were significantly inhibited by treatment of SPE 400, 200 and 100 mg/kg, dose-dependently, and they also dramatically normalized the hepatic lipid peroxidation and depletion of liver endogenous antioxidant defense system, the changes of the hepatic glucose-regulating enzyme activities, also changes of the lipid metabolism-related genes expressions including hepatic $AMPK{\alpha}1$ and $AMPK{\alpha}2$ mRNA expressions, dose-dependently. Especially, SPE 200 mg/kg constantly showed favorable inhibitory activities against type II diabetes and related complications as comparable to those of metformin 250 mg/kg in HFD mice, respectively. Conclusions : The present work demonstrated that SPE 400, 200 and 100 mg/kg showed favorable anti-diabetic and related complications including obesity refinement activities in HFD mice, through AMPK upregulation mediated hepatic glucose enzyme activity and lipid metabolism-related genes expression, antioxidant defense system and pancreatic lipid digestion enzyme modulatory activities.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.113-122
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• 2005

Objective : The present study was carried out to investigate the preventive effect of Several Herb - Combined Prescription (SHP) on streptozotocin (STZ) - induced diabetes mellitus. Methods : SHP was given to mice with the combination of oral administration and herbal-acupuncture stimulation. Experimental diabetes was induced by the injection of STZ(50mg/kg) to the rat via the peritoneum The effect of SHP on STZ-induced diabetes was observed by measuring the serum level of insulin, glucose, triglyceride, total cholesterol and lipid peroxides. Hepatic activities of catalase and reduced glutathione were examined. Results : SHP treatment protected them from the hyperglycemia. STZ induced increase of serum triglyceride lowered by SHP treatment. Conclusions : The SHP treatment showed protective effect on diabetic mouse model, and action mechanism of the effect was thought to be concerned with anti-oxidative stress.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.315-323
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• 2018

Rapid increase of diabetic population is a major health concern in Korea. In a trial to develop food components which can prevent and/or cure diabetes, we investigated the anti-diabetic activity of curcumin in high fat diet (HFD)-induced type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) animal model. C57BL/6 mice were divided into three groups: normal diet (ND), high fat diet (HFD), and curcumin (CUR, HFD+0.02% curcumin). Mice were fed each diet for 16 weeks. CUR significantly reduced body weight gain, the levels of plasma glucose, insulin, total-cholesterol (T-C), and LDL-C, whereas increased HDL-C compared to those of HFD group. Notably, insulin signaling pathway was activated by CUR. This suggests that CUR improves obesity-associated T2DM by overcoming insulin resistance in part.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.194-199
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• 2014

The roots of Paeonia lactiflora (PL) has been traditionally used as analgesic, spasmolytic and tonic in Korea, China, and Japan. As part of a search for herbal medicine to treat diabetes and obesity, we confirmed hypoglycemic effect of PL through high fat diet-induced obese and diabetic mice experiments in vivo. Treatment of ethanolic extract from PL led to a significant decrease in glucose level, which is comparable to that of an antidiabetic drug metformin. In addition, PL selectively stimulates the transcriptional activities of both peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor $(PPAR){\alpha}$ and ${\gamma}$, and inhibits enzymatic activity of protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B), which are predicted to be therapeutic target in treatment of type2 diabetes and obesity. Especially, the n-hexane fraction (Hx) from PL ethanol extract showed more potent activities on $PPAR{\alpha}$ and than others and exihibited moderate inhibitory activity against PTP1B.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.42-48
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• 2016

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Seaweeds have been reported to have various health beneficial effects. In this study, we investigated the potential anti-obesity and anti-inflammatory effects of four types of domestic brown seaweeds in a high-fat diet-induced obese mouse model and bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM). MATERIALS/METHODS: Male C57BL/6N mice were fed low-fat diet (LFD), high-fat diet (HFD) or HFD containing Undaria Pinnatifida, HFD containing Laminaria Japonica (LJ), HFD containing Sargassum Fulvellum, or HFD containing Hizikia Fusiforme (HF) for 16 weeks. RESULTS: Brown seaweed supplementation did not affect long-term HFD-associated changes in body weight or adiposity, although mice fed HFD + LJ or HFD + HF gained slightly less body weight compared with those fed HFD at the beginning of feeding. Despite being obese, mice fed HFD + LJ appeared to show improved insulin sensitivity compared to mice fed HFD. Consistently, we observed significantly reduced blood glucose concentrations in mice fed HFD + LJ compared with those of mice fed HFD. Although no significant differences in adipocyte size were detected among the HFD-fed groups, consumption of seaweeds decreased formation of HFD-induced crown-like structures in gonadal adipose tissue as well as plasma inflammatory cytokines. BMDM from mice fed HFDs with seaweeds showed differential regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-$1{\beta}$ and IL-6 compared with BMDM from mice fed HFD by LPS stimulation. CONCLUSION: Although seaweed consumption did not prevent long-term HFD-induced obesity in C57BL/6N mice, it reduced insulin resistance (IR) and circulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Therefore, seaweeds may ameliorate systemic inflammation and IR in obesity partially due to inhibition of inflammatory signaling in adipose tissue cells as well as bone marrow-derived immune cells.