From Langerhans islets to pancreas transplantation over the past 30 years: a review with personal contributions.

Organ, tissue and cell banking is currently an important method used to prevent death of cells in replacement transplantation therapy. From 1975 to 1985 the author performed experimental transplantations of islets isolated by collagenase digestion through injection into the liver through the portal vein, or by transplantation of minced neonatal pancreases under the renal capsule of alloxan or spreptozotocin into severely chronic diabetic rats and mice. Seventy of the 256 transplanted rats and mice were cured for 1 year, i.

Effects of the neoflavonoid coutareagenin, one of the antidiabetic active substances of Hintonia latiflora, on streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus in rats.

In the present study, diabetes mellitus was induced with streptozotocin in Wistar rats from the inbred strain F > 28, and a blood sugar lowering effect due to the oral or intragastric administration of a copalchi native extract (Hintoniae latiflorae cortex) or intragastric administration of the pure substance, coutareagenin (neoflavonoid) (5-hydroxy-7-methoxy-4-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-2H-benzo-1-pyran-2-on), was demonstrated with statistically significant results. This study enlarged and confirmed the results of earlier studies by other authors with regard to the antidiabetic effect of the copalchi bark extract in various animal species with hyperglycemia induced by different methods. By the use of the synthetically produced neoflavonoid, coutareagenin, the present series of tests provided evidence that coutareagenin, one of the active substances contained in Hintonia latiflora bark (Copalchi bark), produces a reduction of diabetic elevated blood sugar levels.