Allyl isothiocyanate increases carbohydrate oxidation through enhancing insulin secretion by TRPV1.

The transient receptor potential (TRP) V1 is a cation channel belonging to the TRP channel family and it has been reported to be involved in energy metabolism, especially glucose metabolism. While, we have previously shown that intragastric administration of allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) enhanced glucose metabolism via TRPV1, the underlying mechanism has not been elucidated. In this study, we examined the relationship between insulin secretion and the increase in carbohydrate oxidation due to AITC. Intragastric administration of AITC elevated blood insulin levels in mice and AITC directly enhanced insulin secretion from isolated islets. These observations were not reproduced in TRPV1 knockout mice. Furthermore, AITC did not increase carbohydrate oxidation in streptozotocin-treated mice. These results suggest that intragastric administration of AITC could induce insulin secretion from islets via TRPV1 and that enhancement of insulin secretion was related to the increased carbohydrate oxidation due to AITC.

Intragastric administration of allyl isothiocyanate reduces hyperglycemia in intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT) by enhancing blood glucose consumption in mice.

We investigated the effects of allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) on the blood glucose levels of mice using an intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test. The intragastric administration of 25 mg/kg body weight AITC reduced the increase in blood glucose level after 2 g/kg body weight glucose was given intraperitoneally, compared with that of control mice. To elucidate the mechanism responsible for the reduction, respiratory gas analysis employing (13)C-labeled glucose was performed. The intragastrically administering AITC increased (13)CO2 emission, compared to vehicle, after intraperitoneal administration of (13)C-labeled glucose. This indicated that AITC increased the utilization of exogenously administered glucose, which was excessive glucose in the blood. To examine whether transient receptor potential (TRP) channels mediated this reduction in the blood glucose levels, we used TRPA1 and TRPV1 knockout (KO) mice. Intragastrically administering AITC reduced the increase in the blood glucose level in TRPA1 KO mice but not in TRPV1 KO mice. These findings suggest that dietary AITC might reduce the increases in blood glucose levels by increasing the utilization of excessive glucose in the blood by activating TRPV1.