Narrow Results

We observed that curry leaf (Murraya koenigii) extract possesses the property to decrease blood cholesterol and blood glucose levels in diabetic ob/ob mice. Mice received daily intraperitoneal injections of 80 mg/kg curry leaf extract for 10 consecutive days. The extract significantly decreased blood cholesterol level from 277.6 ± 16.6 mg/d (day 0) to 182.0 ± 15.3 mg/d (day 10, p < 0.01 compared with the change in vehicle group). The extract also significantly decreased blood glucose level from 387.0 ± 15.6 mg/dl (day 0) to 214.0 ± 26.6 mg/dl (day 10, p < 0.01). In addition, body weight was reduced after extract treatment. Our data suggest that curry leaf may be proved to be of clinical importance in improving the management of high cholesterol level and type 2 diabetes.

We studied the effect of ethanolic leaf extract of Azadirachta indica (AIE) on the microanatomy of the kidney of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Thirty male Wistar rats (161–190 g) were randomly assigned to one of five treatment groups of six animals each: control, diabetic, diabetic + AIE, diabetic + metformin, AIE only. Diabetes was induced with a single intraperitoneal dose of streptozotocin (70 mg/kg body weight). AIE and metformin were administered orally for 50 days (50 d) at 500 mg/kg bw/d and 350 mg/kg bw/d, respectively. Blood glucose was estimated by glucose oxidase method; plasma urea and creatinine were assayed; and paraffin sections of the kidney were stained by periodic acid-Schiff technique. Untreated diabetic rats exhibited marked hyperglycemia. Renal histopathology of these animals showed features of diabetic nephropathy, with nodular glomerulosclerosis and vacuolation of proximal tubule cells (Armanni-Ebstein phenomenon). These feature were absent in the diabetic rats treated with AIE. Besides, plasma urea and creatinine were not significantly different from the control in this group (p > 0.05), in contrast to the untreated diabetic rats, where significant increases in these markers (p < 0.05). These findings showed that the leaf extract of Azadirachta indica ameliorates hyperglycemia and diabetic nephropathy in rats.

The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of zishentongluo (ZSTL) for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy (DN) and its related mechanisms. Forty-five patients with DN were randomized to receive either ZSTL (n = 25) or benazepril (n = 20), an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, for 12 weeks. Conventional biochemical tests were performed to determine fasting blood glucose (FBG), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), serum creatinine (SCr), endogenous creatinine clearance rate (Ccr), total cholesterol (TC), and triglyceride (TG) levels. The urinary albumin excretion rate (UAER), and endothelin 1 (ET-1), and atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) levels were determined with a radioimmunoassay, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was detected using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The primary endpoint was change from the baseline to post-treatment in HbA1c. Secondary endpoints were change from baseline to post-treatment in FBG, TC, TG, UAER, SCr, Ccr, VI-C, ANP, ET-1, and VEGF. ZSTL was significantly more effective at improving the primary (i.e., HbA1c) and secondary (i.e., FBG, TC, TG, UAER, SCr, ANP, ET-1, and VEGF) outcomes than benazepril (p < 0.05). These findings suggest that ZSTL is superior to benazepril at improving the metabolic and renal functioning in patients with early-stage DN, in part, by modifying ANP, ET-1, and VEGF.

Patients with type 2 diabetes have increased cardiovascular disease risk compared with those without diabetes. Hyperglycemia can induce reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, which contributes to the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy. Our previous study has demonstrated that the total saponins of Aralia taibaiensis (sAT), a frequently-used antidiabetic medicine in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), can scavenge free radicals in vitro and have good anti-oxidant ability on lipid peroxidation of rat liver microsomes. This work was designed to investigate whether sAT could protect the heart while it was used in the treatment of diabetes. Oxidative stress was induced in H9c2 cells by high glucose (33 mM) and glucose oxidase (15 mU, G/GO) and the protective effects of sAT were evaluated. Treatment of H9c2 cells with G/GO resulted in an increase in cell death, intracellular ROS level and cell oxidative injury, which were markedly reduced by sAT treatment. Further study revealed that sAT induced the nuclear translocation of Nrf2 and expression of its downstream targets. Moreover, Nrf2 siRNA markedly abolished the cytoprotective effects of sAT. sAT exerted cytoprotective effects against oxidative stress induced by hyperglycemia and the cardioprotective effects of sAT might be through the Nrf2/ARE pathway. Thus, sAT might be a promising candidate for the treatment of diabetic cardiomyopathy.

This study used an integrated approach to investigate the effects of Gymnema sylvestre (GS) extract as a functional dietary supplement with a high-fat diet. This approach examined insulin resistance, the dysfunction of adipose tissue, and liver steatosis. Male C57BL/6J mice were fed a normal chow or high-fat diet (HFD) for the acute and chronic study, in addition to GS in different doses (100, 250 and 500mg/kg body weight). Their body composition changes, serum lipid and glucose parameters, adipose and liver tissue histology, and gene expression were measured. It was found that GS significantly suppressed the increase of body weight, serum levels of lipid, insulin and leptin, and adipose tissue, and liver inflammation. GS also demonstrated hypoglycemic effects due to the amylase inhibition activity. Our results support the existence of a relationship between the HFD induced insulin resistance, adipose dysfunction and liver steatosis. In conclusion, GS works as a functional dietary supplement with preventative effects against metabolic disorder.

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Diabetes mellitus (DM) or hyperglycemia (in a more generalized term, high blood sugar) is a metabolic disorder that is now highly prevalent in the world population. Most of the food that people consume is converted into glucose, which enters the bloodstream following absorption–assimilation mechanisms. As a natural process, cells in our body utilize glucose for growth and energy. The glucose balance is maintained by a hormone called insulin that is secreted by the beta cells of pancreas. Hypotheses at the backdrop of DM occurrence are either (i) enough insulin is not produced and secreted resulting in increased level of glucose in blood, or (ii) insulin is insensitive to glucose, or (iii) insulin is non-targeted etc. If DM remains uncontrolled over time, it leads to serious damage to many of the body's systems, especially the nerves and blood vessels. This paper develops an enquiry into diabetes from many angles: (i) Diabetes as a disorder, its complications, causes, diagnostic tests, and treatment; (ii) Analysis of retinal and plantar images to characterize diabetes complications; (iii) How analysis of heart rate variability signals can depict diabetes; (iv) Biomedical engineering of the glucose–insulin regulatory system, and its employment in the modeling of the oral glucose tolerance test data, to detect diabetes as well as persons at risk of being diabetic; (v) Application of the glucose–insulin regulatory system to formulate an insulin delivery system for controlling blood sugar.