Abstract
Diabetes has been associated with neurodegenerative disorders that are accompanied by memory loss and cognitive impairments, but there is no effective treatment for it at present. Fragaria nilgerrensis Schlecht. (FNS), a well-known Chinese materia medica, has been traditionally used for the folkloric treatment of diabetes and other diseases. However, its effects are poorly documented. Here, we investigated the antidiabetic and neuroprotective effect of FNS in diabetic mice. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) evaluations of N-butanol extract of Fragaria nilgerrensis Schlecht. (N-FNS) showed the presence of flavonoid and its structure is similar to scutellarin. For the first time, we show the potential neuroprotective and antidiabetic effects of FNS. After 4 weeks of FNS intervention, a significant decrease in blood glucose, increase in body weight, and amelioration in glucose tolerance were observed in FNS treated diabetic mice. In the acute study, FNS enhanced motor activity in the open field task and significantly prevented spatial-learning deficits in Morris water maze tests. Besides, synapse ultrastructure of the hippocampus showed that the mitochondrial morphology was basically restored and all the synaptic structural parameters were gradually normalized after treatment with FNS. Importantly, we found that the activities of SOD and CAT in liver and hippocampus of diabetic mice significantly increased after FNS administration. In vitro, FNS and scutellarin showed high DPPH radical scavenging activity. The study suggests that FNS exerted significant antidiabetic and neuroprotective effects which may be attributed to its antioxidant property.
Highlights
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by hyperglycemia which can lead to a series of complications [1, 2], including pancreatic diseases, cardiovascular disease, liver diseases, blindness, and neurodegenerative diseases [3]
To confirm the presence of scutellarin, additional analyzes were performed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)
The results indicated that the impairment of spatial-learning and passive avoidance performance was attenuated by Fragaria nilgerrensis Schlecht. (FNS) hypodermic injection
Summary
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by hyperglycemia which can lead to a series of complications [1, 2], including pancreatic diseases, cardiovascular disease, liver diseases, blindness, and neurodegenerative diseases [3]. Some authors favour the hypothesis of brain insulin resistance because, in a few small studies, insulin was found to improve memory [4, 5]. Compared with those without diabetes, those with the diseases have a 1.2- to 1.5-fold greater rate of decline in cognitive function [6]. A number of clinical and epidemiological studies have shown that the pathophysiological features of diabetes and neuropathic disease are similar to each other, which share complex and linked mechanism including insulin resistance, inflammation, and oxidative stress [7,8,9]. The impairment of insulin signaling in the brain may damage the ability of neurons to self-repair and could enhance the development of neurodegenerative disorders [4, 10]
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