Mechanisms of the hypoglycaemic and immunopotentiating effects of Nigella sativa L. oil in streptozotocin-induced diabetic hamsters.

The aim of this study was to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the hypoglycaemic effect of N. sativa oil (Nigella sativa oil) in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic hamsters, in terms of hepatic glucose production, and to investigate the possible immunopotentiating effect of N. sativa oil on peritoneal macrophages. Diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of 65 mg/kg body weight of STZ. Treatment with N. sativa oil commenced 6 weeks after induction of diabetes at a dose of 400 mg/kg body weight by gastric gavage. Isolated hepatocytes were collected using collagenase to determine liver glucose production. Phagocytic activity was evaluated by injection of fluorescent latex (2 microm diameter) intraperitoneally, followed 24 h later by collection of peritoneal macrophages. N. sativa oil reduced blood glucose from 391+/-3.0 mg/dl before treatment to 325+/-4.7, 246+/-5.9, 208+/-2.5 and 179+/-3.1 mg/dl after the first, second, third and fourth weeks of treatment, respectively. Hepatic glucose production from gluconeogenic precursors (alanine, glycerol and lactate) was significantly lower in treated hamsters. Treatment with N. sativa oil significantly increased the phagocytic activity and phagocytic index of peritoneal macrophages and lymphocyte count in peripheral blood compared with untreated diabetic hamsters. Our data indicate that the hypoglycaemic effect of N. sativa oil is due to, at least in part, a decrease in hepatic gluconeogenesis, and that the immunopotentiating effect of N. sativa oil is mediated through stimulation of macrophage phagocytic activity either directly or via activation of lymphocytes.

Molecular cloning and mRNA expression of the bovine insulin-responsive glucose transporter (GLUT4).

Insulin-response glucose transporter GLUT4 is a member of the glucose transporter family (GLUT) and is present exclusively in muscle and adipose tissue. It is a target of insulin action in humans and rodents. To clarify the molecular structure of bovine GLUT4, its GLUT4 cDNA was cloned by the RT-PCR method. Several cDNA clones corresponding to the different regions of GLUT4 were obtained by amplifying reverse-transcriptase products of RNA extracted from Holstein cattle skeletal muscle. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the cDNA clones revealed that bovine GLUT4 cDNA was composed of 2,656 base pairs with a coding region for a 509 amino acid protein. The deduced amino acid sequence was 64% and 92% identical with bovine GLUT1 (GLUT ubiquitously expressed in all tissues) and rat GLUT4, respectively. Although the amino acid sequence of the GLUT4 COOH-terminal region is highly conserved among the species so far reported, one amino acid (Asp) of the region was replaced by His in bovine GLUT4. The tissue distribution of GLUT4 was also examined by Northern blot analysis using a probe prepared from the bovine cDNA. GLUT4 mRNA was detected in skeletal muscle, heart, and adipose tissue, but not in liver, kidney, lung, brain, or spleen. Such a distribution is essentially the same as in humans and rodents, suggesting that GLUT4 is an insulin-responsive glucose transporter in cattle.