Uddipak Rai1, Ramoji Kosuru1, Swati Prakash1, Surya Pratap Singh2, Hareram Birla2, Vinod Tiwari3, Sanjay Singh4. 1. Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering & Technology, Indian Institute of Technology, BHU, Varanasi 221005, India. 2. Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India. 3. Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering & Technology, Indian Institute of Technology, BHU, Varanasi 221005, India. Electronic address: vtiwari.phe@iitbhu.ac.in. 4. Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering & Technology, Indian Institute of Technology, BHU, Varanasi 221005, India. Electronic address: ssingh.phe@iitbhu.ac.in.
Abstract
AIMS: The present experiment was conceptualised to explore the therapeutic response of tetramethylpyrazine (TMP), a major active constituent of Ligusticum chuanxiong, a Chinese traditional medicinal plant, in high-fat diet (HFD)-streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes in rats and to identify the possible mechanism of action. MAIN METHODS: Dose-reliant effect of oral treatment of TMP (100, 150 and 200 mg/kg/day) for 28 days was evaluated by calculating the alteration in body weight, level of fasting blood glucose (FBG), plasma insulin, homeostasis model assessment (HOMA), serum lipids, oral glucose & intraperitoneal insulin tolerance and glycosylated haemoglobin in HFD-STZ-induced type-2 diabetic (T2D) rats and underlying molecular mechanisms of TMP was also studied. KEY FINDINGS: TMP treatment prominently reduced the level of FBG, glycosylated haemoglobin and revived body weight gain and level of serum insulin dose-dependently in diabetic rats. TMP treatment considerably improved insulin resistance, as observed in oral glucose tolerance and insulin tolerance tests. Moreover, dose-dependent reduction in the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines, C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) was observed and their level was found to be significantly reduced in highest dose TMP (200 mg/kg) treated diabetic rats, pointing towards TMP mediated recovery of insulin signalling and a decrease in insulin resistance. The expressions of p-PI3K-p85/p-Akt/GLUT-4 were also significantly up-regulated by TMP (200 mg/kg), suggesting the connection of the PI3K/Akt signal pathway in the anti-hyperglycemic action of TMP. SIGNIFICANCE: These findings suggest that TMP may be used as a potential agent for type-2 diabetes treatment.
AIMS: The present experiment was conceptualised to explore the therapeutic response of tetramethylpyrazine (TMP), a major active constituent of Ligusticum chuanxiong, a Chinese traditional medicinal plant, in high-fat diet (HFD)-streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes in rats and to identify the possible mechanism of action. MAIN METHODS: Dose-reliant effect of oral treatment of TMP (100, 150 and 200 mg/kg/day) for 28 days was evaluated by calculating the alteration in body weight, level of fasting blood glucose (FBG), plasma insulin, homeostasis model assessment (HOMA), serum lipids, oral glucose & intraperitoneal insulin tolerance and glycosylated haemoglobin in HFD-STZ-induced type-2 diabetic (T2D) rats and underlying molecular mechanisms of TMP was also studied. KEY FINDINGS:TMP treatment prominently reduced the level of FBG, glycosylated haemoglobin and revived body weight gain and level of serum insulin dose-dependently in diabeticrats. TMP treatment considerably improved insulin resistance, as observed in oral glucose tolerance and insulin tolerance tests. Moreover, dose-dependent reduction in the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines, C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) was observed and their level was found to be significantly reduced in highest dose TMP (200 mg/kg) treated diabeticrats, pointing towards TMP mediated recovery of insulin signalling and a decrease in insulin resistance. The expressions of p-PI3K-p85/p-Akt/GLUT-4 were also significantly up-regulated by TMP (200 mg/kg), suggesting the connection of the PI3K/Akt signal pathway in the anti-hyperglycemic action of TMP. SIGNIFICANCE: These findings suggest that TMP may be used as a potential agent for type-2 diabetes treatment.