Effects of Chinese Fructus Mume Formula and Its Separated Prescription Extract on Insulin Resistance in Type 2 Diabetic Rats

The effect of Fructus Mume formula and its separated prescription extract on insulin resis- tance in type 2 diabetic rats was investigated. The rat model of type 2 diabetes was established by feed- ing on a high-fat diet for 8 weeks and by subsequently intravenous injection of small doses of strepto- zotocin. Rats in treatment groups, including the Fructus Mume formula treatment group （FM）, the cold property herbs of Fructus Mume formula treatment group （CFM）, the warm property herbs of Fructus Mume formula treatment group （WFM）, were administrated with Fructus Mume formula and its sepa- rated prescription extract by gavage, while the rats in diabetic model group （DM） and metformin group （MET） were given by gavage with normal saline and metformin correspondingly. The body weight be- fore and after treatment was measured, and the oral glucose tolerance test （OGTT） and the insulin re- lease test （IRT） were performed. The homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance index （HOMA-IR） was calculated. The protein and mRNA expression levels of Insr, β-arrestin-2, Its-1 and Glut-4 in the liver, skeletal muscle and fat tissues were detected by using Western blotting and RT-PCR respectively. The results demonstrated that, as compared with DM group, OGTT, IRT （0 h, 1 h） levels and HOMR-IR in treatment groups were all reduced, meanwhile their protein and mRNA expression levels of Insr, Irs-1 and Glut-4 in the liver, skeletal muscle and fat tissues were obviously increased, and their protein and mRNA expression levels of β-arrestin-2 in the liver and skeletal muscle tissues were also markedly increased. It was suggested that the Fructus Mume formula and its separated prescription extracts could effectively improve insulin resistance in type 2 diabetic rats, which might be related to the up-regulated expression of Insr, Irs-1 and Glut-4 in the liver, skeletal muscle and fat tissues, and β-arrestin-2 in the liver and skeletal muscle tissues.

Effects of Qidi Tangshen granules and their separate prescriptions on podocytes in mice with diabetic nephropathy

Objective:Previous studies have found that Qidi Tangshen granules(QDTS),a combination therapy of supplementing essence(Tianjing,TJ)and unblocking the collaterals(Tongluo,TL),can reduce kidney damage in db/db mice.This study aimed to explore the effect of QDTS and their separate prescriptions on podocytes in mice with diabetic nephropathy.Methods:The db/db mice were used in this experiment as an animal model,while wild-type C57BL/6J mice were used as normal controls.At the age of 12 weeks,the db/db mice were randomly divided into 5 groups(db/db,db/dbþvalsartan,db/dbþQDTS,db/dbþTJ and db/dbþTL).The urine albumin excretion ratio(UAE)was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay before and after the intervention.The ultrastructure of the kidney podocytes was observed by transmission electron microscopy.The protein expression levels of nephrin and desmin were detected by immunohistochemistry.Results:QDTS and their separate prescriptions significantly decreased the UAE and attenuated the renal pathological injury.QDTS and their separate prescriptions also reduced the fusion rate of the foot processes and increased the expression of nephrin protein.In contrast,QDTS and their separate prescriptions(TJ and TL)reduced the expression level of desmin protein.Conclusion:QDTS and their separate prescriptions might reduce diabetes-induced renal injury by reducing podocyte damage.The therapeutic effect of QDTS was more pronounced than TJ and TL.