Abstract
Streptozotocin has been used to induce an experimental model for diabetes to study the activity of anti-diabetic agents. The cholesterol-lowering effect of chitosan makes a continued issue in the field of diabetes, but the hypoglyecemic effect is inconclusive to date. Unlike chitosan, the water soluble chitosan oligosaccharide may possess various biological properties for diabetes. The present study was designed to investigate the long-term effects of chitosan oligosaccharide in normal and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats using glycated hemoglobin and C-peptide. Chitosan oligosaccharide feeding did not cause any harmful effect on plasma glucose as well as plasma lipid metabolism in normal rats, although slightly elevated triglyceride was observed. As compared with the diabetic control rats, effects of chitosan oligosaccharide for 12 weeks in the diabetic rats were summarized as follows; 1) the blood glucose concentrations fell significantly and it was confirmed by decreased glycated hemoglobin, 2) the plasma C-peptide was increased and provided elevated degree of insulin secretion, and 3) relatively well reconstructed pancreatic islet with β cells and additional insulin-immunolabeled cells in the pancreatic acinus and in the intercalated duct were observed. These results suggested that chitosan oligosaccharide could improve the altered blood glucose metabolism in the diabetic rats by various mechanisms such as accelerated proliferation or neogenesis of β cells and increased secretory capacity of insulin.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.