<i>Veratrilla baillonii</i> Franch alleviate the symptoms of diabetes in type 2 diabetic rats induced by high-fat diet and streptozotocin

Abstract

Our previous research studies have shown that&nbsp;<em>Veratrilla baillonii</em>&nbsp;Franch (<em>V</em>. baillonii), a food supplement used by ethnic minorities in Southwest China, has&nbsp;multiple&nbsp;pharmacological activities,&nbsp;such as detoxification, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-insulin resistance.&nbsp;However,&nbsp;the detailed signal pathways&nbsp;for&nbsp;its salutary&nbsp;effect on damages in multiple organs due to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)&nbsp;remains&nbsp;unclear. The current study is to evaluate&nbsp;the&nbsp;therapeutic effects of <em>V</em>. baillonii on T2DM rats and to explore the underlying mechanisms. The&nbsp;T2DM rat model was successfully established by a high-sugar and high-fat diet (HFD) combination&nbsp;with intraperitoneal injection of a small dose of streptozotocin (STZ, 35 mg/kg). Biochemical analysis and histopatholgical examinations were conducted to evaluate&nbsp;the anti-diabetic potential of water extracts of <em>V. baillonii</em>&nbsp;(WVBF). The results&nbsp;showed&nbsp;that the WVBF treatment can improve&nbsp;hyperglycemia&nbsp;and insulin resistance, ameliorate&nbsp;the&nbsp;liver, kidney and pancreas&nbsp;injuries via decreasing&nbsp;inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 and TNF-α, and oxidative damages. Further investigation suggested that WVBF modulates the signal transductions of the IRS1/PI3K/AKT/GLUT4 and AMPK&nbsp;pathways. These findings demonstrate potentials&nbsp;of&nbsp;WVBF in the treatment of&nbsp;T2DM&nbsp;and possible mechanisms&nbsp;for its hepatoprotective activities.