Antidiabetic and antioxidant activities of Mitragyna speciosa (kratom) leaf extract in type 2 diabetic rats.

Mitragyna speciosa is a medicinal plant with a reputation for treating pains, diabetes as well as increasing energy and sexual desires. However, there is no scientific evidence to validate the antidiabetic effect of M. speciosa. This study investigated the antidiabetic effects of M. speciosa (Krat) ethanolic extract on fructose and streptozocin (STZ)-induced type 2 diabetic rats. In vitro antioxidant and antidiabetic effects were evaluated using DPPH, ABST, FRAP and α-glucosidase inhibitory assays. Rats with fructose/STZ induced T2D were treated with Krat (100 and 400 mg/kg) or metformin (200 mg/kg) for 5 weeks via oral gavage. Krat showed good antioxidant activity and also displayed potent α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. Administration of Krat to the diabetic rats significantly improved body weight gain, restored alterations in blood glucose level, glucose tolerance, dyslipidemia (increased cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and reduced high-density lipoprotein), hepatorenal biomarkers alterations (alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, alanine phosphatase, creatinine and blood urea nitrogen) and oxidative stress indices (superoxide dismutase, glutathione and malondialdehyde)in the treated diabetic rats. Furthermore, Krat also restored pancreatic histological and increased immunohistochemical aberrations in the diabetic rats. These results for the first time demonstrated the antidiabetic and antihyperlipidemic potentials of M. speciosa, thus providing scientific reinforcement for the traditional use of the plant in the treatment of diabetes.

Ameliorative potentials of the ethanolic extract from Lycium chinense leaf extract against diabetic cardiomyopathy. Insight into oxido-inflammatory and apoptosis modulation.

The prevalence of cardiovascular complications in diabetes has become one of the major cause of diabetes related morbidity/mortality. The onset and progression of diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) has been majorly linked to lipid alterations, oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis. This present study investigated the cardioprotective role of Lycium chinense leaf extract (LCME) in fructose/streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. Diabetic animals were orally gavaged with LCME (100 and 400 mg/kg) for five weeks. The results indicated that diabetic rats showed increased blood glucose concentration, serum cardiac function markers (troponin T, creatine kinase-MB, aspartate aminotransferase and lactate dehydrogenase) and lipid profile (triglycerides and cholesterol). In addition, the cardiac tissues of diabetic rats showed increased levels of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 1 beta (IL 1ß), interleukin 6 (IL-6), caspase-3 and malondialdehyde as well as significantly reduced activities of catalase, superoxide dismutase, reduced glutathione and glutathione peroxidase. LCME significantly ameliorated hyperglycemia and markedly decreased serum concentrations of troponin T, creatine kinase-MB, aspartate aminotransferase and lactate dehydrogenase, triglycerides and cholesterol. Furthermore, LCME notably suppressed cardiac oxido-inflammatory mediators and boosted cardiac antioxidant defense. Histopathologically, LCME restored cardiac structural alterations and also suppressed the immunohistochemical expression of collagen IV, smooth muscle alpha-actin (α-SMA) and p53, while Bcl2 expression was significantly increased. In conclusion, our result indicated that LCME protected against diabetic cardiomyopathy suppressing oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis and fibrosis.

Comparative transcriptome analysis of rhizome nodes and internodes in Panax. japonicus var. major reveals candidate genes involved in the biosynthesis of triterpenoid saponins.

The rhizome of P. japonicus var. major, one of the important herbs in Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has been used as tonic and hemostatic drugs in Tujia and Miao ethnic groups of China for thousand years. In this study, comparative metabolite and transcriptome analysis of rhizome nodes and internodes of wild P. japonicus var. major was performed to reveal their different roles in the biosynthesis of triterpene saponins. The results showed that the node was the crucial section for the synthesis of ginsenosides in the rhizome. The content of oleanane-type ginsenosides in the node was much higher than those in the internode. Most isoprenoid biosynthesis-related genes were highly expressed in the node. And, candidate UDP-glycosyltransferase (UGT) genes were also found to be differentially expressed between node and internode. Our study will provide a better understanding of the metabolism of ginsenosides in the rhizome of P. japonicus var. major.

[Study on interaction between ginsenosides Rg_1,Rb_1 and Ro and bovine serum albumin].

Small molecules with physiological or pharmacological activities need to interact with biological macromolecules in order to function in the body. As the protein with the highest proportion of plasma protein,serum albumin is the main protein binding to various endogenous or exogenous small molecules. Serum albumin interacts with small molecules in a reversible non-covalent manner and transports small molecules to target sites. Bovine serum albumin( BSA) is an ideal target protein for drug research because of its low cost and high homology with human serum albumin. The research on the interaction between drugs and BSA has become a hotspot in the fields of pharmacy,medicine,biology and chemistry. In this research,molecular docking method was used to study the interaction between three small ginsenosides with high pharmacological value( Rg_1,Rb_1,Ro) and bovine serum albumin( BSA),and the binding mode information of three ginsenosides interacting with BSA was obtained. The results of molecular docking showed that ginsenosides and amino acid residues in the active pocket of proteins could be combined by hydrophobic action,hydrogen bonding and electrostatic action. The interaction between small ginsenosides and bovine serum albumin is not the only form,and their interaction has many forms of force. The interaction between these molecules and various weak forces is the key factor for the stability of the complex. The results of this study can provide the structural information of computer simulation for the determination of the interaction patterns between active components and proteins of ginseng.

Comprehensive assessment for serum treatment for single antigen test for detection of HLA antibodies.

The single antigen test is widely used in the field of transplantation to determine the specificity of HLA antibodies. It will be beneficial to standardize the procedure of the single antigen test among HLA laboratories. It is not uncommon that single antigen testing on native sera fails to detect antibodies with very high concentrations. It has been shown that cleavage products of activated complement components may mask strongly binding antibodies in single antigen testing. To overcome inhibition by the activated complement products, sera are pretreated with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), dithiothreitol (DTT), or heat inactivation before single antigen testing. However, no studies have been published to systemically compare the impact of these treatments on single antigen testing. The aim of this study is to understand the different effects these treatments may have on single antigen test results. We found that mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) obtained from sera treated with EDTA and heat inactivation were nearly identical, while DTT treatment was less potent to remove the inhibition. In addition, sera dilution did not further increase MFI of antibodies after EDTA treatment. Our results provide guidance to choose a pretreatment reagent for single antigen testing, and to compare studies obtained from laboratories using different treatments.