Effect of mitiglinide on Streptozotocin-induced experimental type 2 diabetic rats: a urinary metabonomics study based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Mitiglinide is a new insulinotropic agent of the glinide class and its precise mechanism is not very clear yet. In this study, a urinary metabonomics method based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was developed to study the effect mechanism of mitiglinide on type 2 diabetes mellitus. With pattern recognition analysis of urinary metabolite profiles, a clear separation between Streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetic rats and those treated with mitiglinide was achieved. Some significantly changed metabolites like citrate, creatinine, phenylalanine and bile acids (cholic acid, chenodeoxycholic acid and deoxycholic acid) have been identified and used to explain the mechanism. This work shows that metabonomics method is a valuable tool in drug mechanism study.