Abstract
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is manifested by progressive metabolic impairments in tissues such as skeletal muscle and liver, and these tissues become less responsive to insulin, leading to hyperglycemia. In the present study, stimulation of glucose and oleic acid uptake by elderflower extracts, constituents and metabolites were tested in vitro using the HepG2 hepatocellular liver carcinoma cell line and human skeletal muscle cells. Among the crude extracts, the 96% EtOH extract showed the highest increase in glucose and oleic acid uptake in human skeletal muscle cells and HepG2-cells. The flavonoids and phenolic acids contained therein were potent stimulators of glucose and fatty acid uptake in a dose-dependent manner. Most of the phenolic constituents and several of the metabolites showed high antioxidant activity and showed considerably higher α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition than acarbose. Elderflower might therefore be valuable as a functional food against diabetes.
Highlights
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is one of the most prevalent and serious metabolic diseases, characterized by hyperglycemia, hypertension, dyslipidemia and obesity [1]
In the present study elderflower extracts, constituents and metabolites were investigated for their stimulation of glucose uptake in human skeletal muscle cells and HepG2-cells
This study revealed that the elderflowers, constituents and their metabolites are capable of enhancing glucose uptake in both skeletal muscle cells and liver cells with the flavonoid aglycones as the most promising compounds
Summary
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is one of the most prevalent and serious metabolic diseases, characterized by hyperglycemia, hypertension, dyslipidemia and obesity [1]. There has been increased interest in plants rich in phenolic compounds with antidiabetic properties. Elderflowers (Sambuci flos), the flowers of Sambucus nigra L. (Adoxaceae), are widely used in traditional medicine for treatment of respiratory diseases, influenza, inflammation, as a diuretic and for relieving symptoms and conditions related to what we know in modern days as diabetes [3,4]. Chemical and pharmacological investigations have revealed that elderflowers contain a variety of natural products such as flavonoids, tannins, pectins, triterpenoids and phenolic acids, which possess diverse biological activities such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-hyperglycemic effects [5,6,7,8]
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