Anti-diabetic effect of betulinic acid on streptozotocin-nicotinamide induced diabetic male mouse model

Golshan Arzani Birgani,Layasadat Khorsandi,Akram Ahangarpour,Hadi Fathi Moghaddam

doi:10.1590/s2175-97902018000217171

Golshan Arzani Birgani, Layasadat Khorsandi + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1590/s2175-97902018000217171

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Abstract

ABSTRACT Diabetes is a metabolic disease caused by abnormal insulin secretion or action. In the present study, the effects of betulinic acid (BA, a triterpene) are evaluated on glucose, α-amylase and plasma insulin levels, insulin resistance and the histopathology of pancreatic islets in streptozotocin-nicotinamide (STZ-NA) diabetic mice. Seventy adult male NMRI mice were randomly divided into seven groups: control, sham, diabetic, diabetic treated with BA (10, 20 and 40 mg/kg) and diabetic treated with metformin (200 mg/kg). Diabetes was induced in mice by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin 50 mg/kg after a dose of nicotinamide 120 mg/kg. Two weeks after treatment with BA, blood samples were collected for measuring glucose, α-amylase and insulin levels, and the pancreas was isolated for histopathology evaluation. Diabetes reduced the number and diameter of pancreatic islets, and increased α-amylase and insulin resistance. BA treatment reduced blood glucose, α-amylase and improved insulin sensitivity as well as pancreas histopathology. In addition, BA showed stronger effects on the pancreatic histology and insulin resistance compared to the metformin group.

Highlights

Diabetes mellitus is a global health problem
The mean of fasting plasma glucose (Table I, p
The results show that treatment with BA in STZ-NA diabetic mice decreased homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) compared with the control group

Summary

Introduction

Diabetes mellitus is a global health problem. Insulin deficiency leads to failure of glucose consumption in diabetes mellitus (DM) and breakdown of lipids and proteins (Mousavi et al, 2011). Studies have shown that to treat and manage type 2 diabetes and its complications, several long-used herbal medicines appear to be effective (Jeong et al, 2012); for example, triterpenoids, which are a large group of compounds present in many plants (Silva et al, 2016). These compounds divide into lupane, oleonane and ursane groups (Jager et al, 2009). These compounds divide into lupane, oleonane and ursane groups (Jager et al, 2009). 3β-Hydroxylup-20(29)-en-28-oic acid, betulinic acid (BA) is a

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