Abstract
With the prevalence of obesity all over the world, human health has been seriously affected. In particular, the number of diabetic and cardiovascular diseases has increased dramatically. The herb Coreopsis tinctoria (C. tinctoria) shows diverse biological and pharmacological activities, which are mainly attributed to its flavonoids. However, the specific functional substances that play an active role in C. tinctoria remain unclear, and its mechanism has not been deeply explored. In this study, we established a diet-induced obesity (DIO) mice model and treated mice with C. tinctoria or kaempferol for 8 weeks. The results showed that both C. tinctoria and kaempferol lowered body weight, reduced fasting blood glucose, and improved glucose tolerance and insulin resistance to alleviate obesity in DIO mice. The level of hemoglobin A1c also decreased significantly after treatment with C. tinctoria and kaempferol. Moreover, the administration of C. tinctoria and kaempferol also restored gut microbiota imbalance and significantly increased Desulfovibrio and Butyricimonas levels, which have been reported to improve glucose metabolism and intestinal health. In general, our study shows that C. tinctoria is a potential hypoglycemic substance for obesity and may reduce blood glucose by regulating gut microbiota, and that kaempferol is one of the effective substances of C. tinctoria.
Highlights
In recent years, rates of global obesity have increased dramatically
We explored the hypoglycemic effects of water extract of C. tinctoria and kaempferol on a hyperglycemia model induced by a high-fat diet, and investigated whether the modulation of gut microbiota is the mechanism for C. tinctoria extracts and kaempferol to exert their effects on the hyperglycemia model
The fasting blood glucose of C. tinctoria group appeared to decrease at the 15th week and kaempferol groups reached a significant level at the 18th week (Figure 1d) (p < 0.0001). These results show that C. tinctoria and kaempferol effectively improved the obesity of hyperglycemic mice induced by HFD without affecting the food intake of diet-induced obesity (DIO) mice
Summary
Rates of global obesity have increased dramatically. According toWorld Health Organization (WHO) estimations, one in five adults will be obese by 2025 [1].obesity has been almost considered as an epidemic worldwide, associated with diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, fatty liver disease, osteoarthritis, obstructive sleep apnea, several cancers, as well as social and psychological problems [2,3]. Rates of global obesity have increased dramatically. World Health Organization (WHO) estimations, one in five adults will be obese by 2025 [1]. Obesity has been almost considered as an epidemic worldwide, associated with diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, fatty liver disease, osteoarthritis, obstructive sleep apnea, several cancers, as well as social and psychological problems [2,3]. Reports indicate that severe obesity in childhood and adolescence increases the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in youth and young adults [4,5]. There is sufficient evidence that obesity management can delay the development of T2DM from pre-diabetes and may be beneficial to its treatment [6]. Most obesity or diabetes treatment methods have the disadvantages of significant side effects, easy rebound, decreased immunity, and so on [7,8]. Dietary intervention has become a main research hotspot [9]
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