Abstract
BackgroundIn the last few years, the effects of bioactive food components have received much attention because of their beneficial effects including decreasing inflammation, scavenging free radicals, and regulating cell signaling pathways. Betanin as a potent antioxidant has been previously reported to exhibit anti diabetic effects. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of betanin on glycemic control, lipid profile, hepatic function tests, as well as the gene expression levels of 5′ adenosine monophosphate‑activated protein kinase (AMPK), sirtuin-1 (SIRT1), and nuclear factor kappa B (NF‑κB) in streptozocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats.MethodsDiabetes was induced in male Sprague–Dawley rats by intraperitoneal administration of STZ. Different doses of betanin (10, 20 and 40 mg/kg.b.w) was administered to diabetic rats for 28 days. Fasting blood glucose and serum insulin were measured. The histopathology of liver and pancreas tissue evaluated. Real-time PCR was performed to assess gene expression levels.ResultsTreatment of diabetic rats with betanin (10 and 20 mg/kg.b.w) reduced FBG levels compared to the control diabetic rats (P < 0.001). Betanin at the dose of 20 mg/kg.b.w was most effective in increasing serum insulin levels (P < 0.001) improving glucose tolerance test (GTT) as well as improvement in lipid profile and liver enzymes levels. According to histopathologic assay, different damages induced by STZ to liver and pancreas tissues was largely eliminated by treatment with 10 and 20 mg/kg.b.w of betanin. Betanin also significantly upregulated the AMPK and SIRT1 and downregulated the NF-κB mRNA expression compared to the diabetic control rats (P < 0.05).ConclusionBetanin could modulate AMPK/SIRT1/NF-κB signaling pathway and this may be one of its anti-diabetic molecular mechanisms.
Highlights
In the last few years, the effects of bioactive food components have received much attention because of their beneficial effects including decreasing inflammation, scavenging free radicals, and regulating cell signaling pathways
Treatment of diabetic rats with betanin (10 and 20 mg/kg) or glibenclamide significantly reduced Fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels compared to the control diabetic rats at the end of the study (P < 0.001), while treatment with 40 mg/kg of betanin could not improve FBG levels significantly (P = 0.360)
In order to determine the molecular pathways of these favorable effects of betanin, we further evaluated the effects of different doses of betanin treatment on the gene expressions of adenosine monophosphate‐activated protein kinase (AMPK), SIRT1, and Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) in the whole blood and liver of the diabetic rats by Real-time Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
Summary
In the last few years, the effects of bioactive food components have received much attention because of their beneficial effects including decreasing inflammation, scavenging free radicals, and regulating cell signaling pathways. Betanin as a potent antioxidant has been previously reported to exhibit anti diabetic effects. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of betanin on glycemic control, lipid profile, hepatic function tests, as well as the gene expression levels of 5′ adenosine monophosphate‐activated protein kinase (AMPK), sirtuin-1 (SIRT1), and nuclear factor kappa B (NF‐κB) in streptozocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats. The natural pigments of red beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) are presently gaining popularity for use as natural colorants in the food industry. Red beetroots have been used to treat diabetes in many countries. Betanin is the main betalain that causes the red-violet color of beetroot and has been shown to exhibit anti-diabetes, anti-oxidative, and anti-inflammatory properties [8, 9]
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