Effect of curcumin on glucose and lipid metabolism, FFAs and TNF-α in serum of type 2 diabetes mellitus rat models.

Objective: To investigate how curcumin affects the glucose and lipid metabolism in type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) rat models, and to explore its effect on the free fatty acid (FFA) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) in serum.

Methods: Successfully established type 2 DM rats were divided into three groups, i.e. the normal control group, model group and curcumin group, and received the medication for consecutive 8 weeks. Thereafter, we detected the level of fasting blood glucose (FBG), and the blood glucose at 30 min, 60 min and 120 min; besides, we also carried out the insulin tolerance tests to measure the levels of fasting serum insulin (FINS) and blood glucose at 40 min and 90 min; additionally, we also detected the levels of TC, TG, HDL-C, LDL-C, FFA and TNF-α in serum. The results were expected to discover the mechanism of curcumin in decreasing the blood glucose level in DM rats.

Results: Compared with the model group, AUCs of FBG, blood glucose at 30 min, 60 min and 120 min, and glucose were decreased in varying degrees in the curcumin group, and the differences had statistical significance ( < .05). After subcutaneous injection of insulin, we found that the blood glucose at 40 min and 90 min in the curcumin group was decreased, while AUC of glucose level was also decreased ( < .05 or .01). Eight weeks after medication, compared with the rats in the normal group, the levels of HDL-C, LDL-C, TC and TG in rats of the model group and the curcumin group were obviously increased ( < .05). In comparison with the model group, the level of LDL-C in rats of the curcumin group was also decreased significantly ( < .05). In comparison with the normal control group in the same period, we found that the content of FFAs and TNF-α in serum of rats of the model group were elevated significantly, and the differences had statistical significance ( < .05 or .01); the levels in the curcumin group were significantly decreased in comparison with the model group in the same period, and the difference had statistical significance ( < .05 or .01).

Conclusion: Treatment with curcumin can significantly improve the metabolic disorder of glucose and lipid, enhance the sensitivity to the insulin, and ameliorate the resistance to insulin of the type II DM rats. Meanwhile, this treatment method can also significantly decrease the level of FFA and TNF-α in serum of type II DM rats. Thus, we inferred that the mechanism of curcumin to improve the insulin resistance might be correlated with the decreases of FFA and TNF-α in serum.