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Berberine Improves Plasma Glucose Control and Lipid Profiles in Streptozotocin‐Induced Diabetic Rats
Author(s) -
Chen Yanfeng,
Zhang Junzeng,
Sun Changhao,
Wang Yanwen
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.22.2_supplement.704
Subject(s) - medicine , endocrinology , streptozotocin , diabetes mellitus , insulin , cholesterol , chemistry , berberine , carbohydrate metabolism , plasma glucose , blood lipids , biochemistry
The objective of the present study was to determine the effect and mechanisms of action of BBR on plasma insulin and glucose levels in streptozotocin (STZ)‐induced diabetic rats. Male Wistar rats were injected with 50 mg/kg body weight of STZ to induce diabetes. The control rats were injected with the control vehicle solution. The fasting blood glucose was measured with an ACCU‐Check on d 3 and d 14 after the STZ injection. Rats with fasting glucose over 20 mmol/L were considered diabetic and treated with 100mg/kg body weight BBR for 50 d. Results showed that BBR reduced the fasting blood glucose as compared with the diabetic control. The OGTT test demonstrated that BBR treatment tended to improve oral glucose tolerance by showing decreased blood glucose at 30‐min after the oral glucose load. BBR slightly increased plasma insulin levels but did not reach statistical significance. BBR lowered dramatically the plasma total cholesterol, LDL‐cholesterol, triacylglycerides, and free fatty acids. Real time PCR did not reveal significant effects of BBR on the expression of several genes associated with fatty acid and glucose metabolism in the liver or skeletal muscle. The results suggest that BBR has antihyperlipidaemic and antidiabetic effects in diabetic rats. This work was supported by the National Research Council of Canada.