Dietary supplementation of sulforaphane improves glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in middle‐aged obese mice (809.4)

Abstract

Obesity and diabetes are growing health problems world‐wide. In this study, we tested whether sulforaphane, a compound derived from cruciferous vegetables, has anti‐diabetic action using animal model. One year old male mice were fed either a high‐fat diet (FHD) or HFD supplemented with sulforaphane (0.3 g/kg diet) for 7 weeks. We found that dietary provision of sulforaphane greatly improved fasting blood glucose, glucose tolerance, and peripheral insulin sensitivity in mice fed HFD. Sulforaphane treatment had no effect on body weight gain or body composition of obese mice. In addition, body temperature, energy expenditure, or cage activity of mice were not altered by sulforaphane treatment. These data for the first time suggest that sulforaphane may be a potent natural compound for preventing the development of insulin resistance and diabetes in old adult mice.Grant Funding Source: Supported by grants from the NCCAM of NIH (R01AT007077) and ADA Basic Research Award