Abstract
1-Deoxynojirimycin (DNJ), the main hypoglycemic constituent in mulberry (Morus alba) latex, has been extensively researched. Although there is considerable interest in the biological effects of DNJ, the roles of 1-deoxynojirimycin (DNJ) in glycometabolism and energy metabolism in insects have received little attention. In this paper, 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) based metabonomic was performed to study the effects of the oral supplementation of 0.25% DNJ, 0.5% DNJ, latex, and the mixture of 0.5% DNJ and latex (1 : 1) on the fat body glycometabolism and energy metabolism of the fourth-instar larvae of Eri silkworms, Samia cynthia ricini. Metabolic pattern recognition analysis (partial least square-discriminant analysis, PLS-DA) of fat body extracts indicated that the groups of 0.25% DNJ, 0.5% DNJ, latex, and the mixture of 0.5% DNJ and latex (1 : 1) were significantly different from the control group. Further, compared to the control group, the metabolites levels of lactate, trehalose, succinate, malate, and fumarate were remarkably changed in experimental groups, which were involved in glycolysis, hydrolysis of trehalose, and tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. Our results indicate that DNJ has a positive impact on the reverse energy metabolism of Eri silkworms and metabonomic analysis based on NMR can be used as a tool to identify potential biomarkers.
Highlights
Mulberry (Morus alba) trees have long been cultivated in China and the leaves have been used to rear the silkworm Bombyx mori [1]
To confirm the assignments made from 1D 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectra, some samples were examined using 2D 1H–1H COSY spectra with solvent suppression
To extract more details about DNJ-induced changes in the various metabolic systems and identify the potential metabolic pathways associated with the effect, fat body NMR spectra were segmented and subjected to partial least square-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA, Figure 2)
Summary
Mulberry (Morus alba) trees have long been cultivated in China and the leaves have been used to rear the silkworm Bombyx mori [1]. DNJ has been reported to have an obvious effect to improve diabetic conditions by inhibiting the activity of α-glucosidase and the absorption of glucose in the intestinal brush border [4, 5]. In response to energy demands, insects release diglycerides and trehalose from the fat body to hemolymph for utilization [12]. Fat body has a close physical exchange with the hemolymph in vivo, which provides the energy for the life of Eri silkworms. Further understanding of DNJ systematical regulation on energy metabolism in tissues of Eri silkworm has not yet been explored. We performed a NMR-based metabonomics analysis of the Eri silkworms fat body, after oral administration of DNJ or mulberry latex. The results of this paper will be conducive to understand regulatory mechanism of DNJ on glycometabolism and energy metabolism
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
