Abstract
BackgroundMulberry leaf as a traditional Chinese medicine is able to treat obesity, diabetes, and dyslipidemia. It is well known that diabetes leads to intestinal microbiota dysbiosis. It is also recently discovered that liver glycogen structure is impaired in diabetic animals. Since mulberry leaves are able to improve the diabetic conditions through reducing blood glucose level, it would be interesting to investigate whether they have any positive effects on intestinal microbiota and liver glycogen structure.MethodsIn this study, we first determined the bioactive components of ethanol extract of mulberry leaves via high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS). Murine animal models were divided into three groups, normal Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, high-fat diet (HFD) and streptozotocin (STZ) induced type 2 diabetic rats, and HFD/STZ-induced rats administered with ethanol extract of mulberry leaves (200 mg/kg/day). Composition of intestinal microbiota was analyzed via metagenomics by sequencing the V3-V4 region of 16S rDNAs. Liver glycogen structure was characterized through size exclusion chromatography (SEC). Both Student’s t-test and Tukey’s test were used for statistical analysis.ResultsA group of type 2 diabetic rat models were successfully established. Intestinal microbiota analysis showed that ethanol extract of mulberry leaves could partially change intestinal microbiota back to normal conditions. In addition, liver glycogen was restored from fragile state to stable state through administration of ethanol extract of mulberry leaves.ConclusionsThis study confirms that the ethanol extract of mulberry leaves (MLE) ameliorates intestinal microbiota dysbiosis and strengthens liver glycogen fragility in diabetic rats. These finding can be helpful in discovering the novel therapeutic targets with the help of further investigations.
Highlights
Mulberry leaf as a traditional Chinese medicine is able to treat obesity, diabetes, and dyslipidemia
This study confirms that the ethanol extract of mulberry leaves (MLE) ameliorates intestinal microbiota dysbiosis and strengthens liver glycogen fragility in diabetic rats
These finding can be helpful in discovering the novel therapeutic targets with the help of further investigations
Summary
Mulberry leaf as a traditional Chinese medicine is able to treat obesity, diabetes, and dyslipidemia. Since mulberry leaves are able to improve the diabetic conditions through reducing blood glucose level, it would be interesting to investigate whether they have any positive effects on intestinal microbiota and liver glycogen structure. Studies show that TCMs such as Xiaoke pill and Dahuang Huanglian Xiexin decoction (DHXD) are able to decrease blood glucose level and/or reduce body weight, together with improving other T2DM symptoms [5, 7]. Hu et al discovered that the compound 1-Deoxynojirimycin isolated from mulberry leaves could significantly decrease serum glucose and insulin levels while improving serum lipid levels and reversing insulin resistance in streptozotocininduced diabetic mice [13]. The effects of mulberry leaf on blood glucose response were tested in healthy and diabetic human subjects, which confirmed that blood glucose levels were markedly reduced by mulberry leaf ingestion [14]
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