Lessonia nigrescens ethanolic extract could be considered as a functional food for reducing blood glucose and regulating intestinal microflora. - GreenMedInfo Summary

SCOPE: In this study, the antidiabetic activity of Lessonia nigrescens ethanolic extract (LNE) was investigated in streptozotocin (SZT)-induced type 2 diabetic mice fed with a high-sucrose/high-fat diet.

METHODS AND RESULTS: The ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with photo-diode array detector and electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry was employed to analyze the major compounds in LNE. The components of the intestinal microflora in type 2 diabetic mice were analyzed by high-throughput next-generation 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Fasting blood glucose levels in diabetic mice were significantly decreased after LNE administration. The histology revealed that LNE could protect the cellular architecture of liver and kidney. LNE treatment significantly increased Bacteroidetes and decreased Firmicutes populations in intestinal microflora. Specifically, It could selectively enrich the amounts of beneficial bacteria, Barnesiella, as well as reduce the abundances of Clostridium and Alistipes. The increased gene and protein expression levels of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) in liver were observed in LNE treatment groups, while the expressions of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) were significantly downregulated.

CONCLUSION: The above findings suggest that LNE could be considered as a functional food for reducing blood glucose and regulating intestinal microflora. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.