Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Diabetes. Jun 15, 2023; 14(6): 846-861
Published online Jun 15, 2023. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v14.i6.846
Lomatogonium rotatum extract alleviates diabetes mellitus induced by a high-fat, high-sugar diet and streptozotocin in rats
Li-Li Dai, Sung-Bo Cho, Hui-Fang Li, Li-Sha A, Xiao-Ping Ji, Sirigunqiqige Pan, Ming-Lan Bao, Laxinamujila Bai, Gen-Na Ba, Ming-Hai Fu
Li-Li Dai, Sung-Bo Cho, Hui-Fang Li, Xiao-Ping Ji, Sirigunqiqige Pan, Ming-Lan Bao, Laxinamujila Bai, Gen-Na Ba, Ming-Hai Fu, NMPA Key Laboratory of Quality Control of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Mongolian Medicine), Inner Mongolia Minzu University, Tongliao 028000, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China
Li-Sha A, Key Laboratory of Tropical Translational Medicine of Ministry of Education, Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory for Research and Development of Tropical Herbs, Hainan Medical University, Haikou 571199, Hainan Province, China
Ming-Hai Fu, Key Laboratory of Tropical Translational Medicine of Ministry of Education, Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory for Research and Development of Tropical Herbs, School of Pharmacy, Hainan Medical University, Haikou 571199, Hainan Province, China
Author contributions: Ba GN and Fu MH contributed to the conceptualization of the manuscript; Dai LL, Cho SB, and Fu MH were involved in the methodology of this study; Cho SB, A LS, and Fu MH contributed to the formal analysis; Dai LL, Cho SB, Li HF, Ji XP, and Pan S participated in the investigation of this manuscript; Dai LL, Cho SB, and Fu MH wrote and prepared the original draft; Bao ML, Bai L, and Ba GN were involved in the writing, reviewing, and editing; Ba GN and Fu MH contributed to the supervision of this manuscript and funding acquisition; Cho SB and Ba GN as the co-first and co-corresponding authors. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 82260773 and 81803845; Central Government Guided Local Scientific and Technological Development Project, No. 2021ZY0015; and Science and Technology Young Talents Development Project of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, No. NJYT22048.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: The animal study was reviewed and approved by Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, Inner Mongolia Minzu University, Approval No. NM-LL-2021-06-15-1.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report having no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: Data are contained within this article.
ARRIVE guidelines statement: The authors have read the ARRIVE guidelines, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the ARRIVE guidelines.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ming-Hai Fu, PhD, Associate Professor, NMPA Key Laboratory of Quality Control of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Mongolian Medicine), Inner Mongolia Minzu University, No. 996 Xilamulun Street, Horqin District, Tongliao 028000, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. mfu@imun.edu.cn
Received: December 16, 2022
Peer-review started: December 16, 2022
First decision: February 20, 2023
Revised: March 21, 2023
Accepted: April 17, 2023
Article in press: April 17, 2023
Published online: June 15, 2023
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Although Lomatogonium rotatum (LR) has a long history of usage as a hypoglycemic agent in Mongolian folk medicine, the evidence-based pharmacological properties and mechanisms of action of this medicinal plant have not yet been thoroughly explained.

Research motivation

The current study explored the hypoglycemic effects and mechanism of LR in a high-fat, high-sugar diet and streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetic rat model.

Research objectives

The current study aimed to emphasize the hypoglycemic action mechanism of LR in a type 2 diabetic rat model and examine potential biomarkers to obtain mechanistic insight into the serum metabolite modifications.

Research methods

A combination of feeding a high-fat, high-sugar diet and streptozotocin injections were applied to develop type 2 diabetes in rats. The high performance liquid chromatography technique was used to determine the chemical composition of LR. LR extract was given through oral gavage at doses of 0.5 g/kg, 2.5 g/kg, and 5 g/kg on a weekly basis for a period of 4 wk. The histopathological examination, as well as the assessment of blood glucose, insulin, glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), and lipid levels, were used to evaluate the anti-diabetic effects of LR extract. A method known as untargeted metabolomics was used in order to study the metabolites found in serum.

Research results

The primary active components found in LR included swertiamarin, sweroside, hesperetin, coumarin, 1.7-dihydroxy-3,8-dimethoxyl xanthone, and 1-hydroxy-2,3,5 trimethoxanone. When compared to the model group, the LR therapy resulted in a large increase in plasma insulin and GLP-1 levels while simultaneously resulting in a significant reduction in blood glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and an oral glucose tolerance test. Analysis of blood samples using an untargeted metabolomic approach found a total of 236 metabolites, of which 86 showed altered levels of expression in the model compared to the LR group. In addition, LR caused significant changes in the levels of metabolites such as vitamin B6, mevalonate-5P, D-proline, L-lysine, and taurine. These metabolites are involved in the regulation of the metabolic pathways for vitamin B6, selenium amino acids, pyrimidine, arginine, and proline.

Research conclusions

These findings indicated that the hypoglycemic effect of LR may be associated with alterations in serum metabolites, which in turn may facilitate insulin and GLP-1 activities, leading to a reduction in blood glucose and lipid profiles.

Research perspectives

Further research is required to confirm the levels of target gene or protein expression that are linked to the changed metabolic pathways and to demonstrate how LR extract lowers blood glucose at the molecular level.