Asiatic acid mitigates hyperglycemia and reduces islet fibrosis in Goto-Kakizaki rat, a spontaneous type 2 diabetic animal model.
10.1016/S1875-5364(15)30047-9
- Author:
Xue WANG
1
;
Qian LU
1
;
Dong-Sheng YU
1
;
Yu-Peng CHEN
1
;
Jing SHANG
1
;
Lu-Yong ZHANG
1
;
Hong-Bin SUN
1
;
Jun LIU
2
Author Information
1. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Screening, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.
2. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Screening, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China. Electronic address: junliu@cpu.edu.cn.
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Asiatic acid;
Diabetes mellitus;
Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rats;
Hyperglycemia;
Islet fibrosis;
Pancreas
- MeSH:
Animals;
Blood Glucose;
metabolism;
Centella;
chemistry;
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2;
drug therapy;
pathology;
Disease Models, Animal;
Fibronectins;
metabolism;
Fibrosis;
Glucose Tolerance Test;
Hyperglycemia;
drug therapy;
pathology;
Insulin;
blood;
Insulin Resistance;
Islets of Langerhans;
drug effects;
pathology;
Male;
Pancreatic Diseases;
metabolism;
pathology;
prevention & control;
Pentacyclic Triterpenes;
pharmacology;
therapeutic use;
Phytotherapy;
Plant Extracts;
pharmacology;
therapeutic use;
Rats, Inbred Strains
- From:
Chinese Journal of Natural Medicines (English Ed.)
2015;13(7):529-534
- CountryChina
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
The Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rat is a spontaneous type 2 diabetic animal model, which is characterized by a progressive loss of beta islet cells with fibrosis. In the present study, the hypoglycemic effect of asiatic acid (AA) in GK rats was examined. GK rats receiving AA at a daily dose of 25 mg·kg(-1) for four weeks showed a significant reduction in blood glucose levels. Age-matched normal Wistar rats were given 0.5% sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC-Na) solution for the same periods and used as control. Compared to the normal Wistar rats, GK rats treated with AA showed improvement in insulin resistance partially through decreasing glucose level (P < 0.01) and insulin level (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the results of immunohistochemistry indicate that AA treatment reduced islet fibrosis in GK rats. Fibronectin, a key protein related to islet fibrosis, was over-expressed in GK rats, which was reversed significantly by AA treatment (P < 0.05). These findings suggest that AA has a beneficial effect on lowering blood glucose levels in GK rats and improves fibrosis of islets in diabetes, which may play a role in the prevention of islets dysfunction.
