Antidiabetic effects of a lipophilic extract obtained from flowers of by activating Akt/GLUT4 and Akt/GSK3β.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is primarily caused by insulin resistance (IR) in insulin-sensitive tissues, including liver, white adipose tissues (WAT), and skeletal muscles. Discovering nutritious foods with antidiabetic effects is of great significance. Numerous published reports indicated that protein kinase B (Akt) and glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) play crucial roles in ameliorating IR and diabetic symptoms.

Objective: In the present study, antidiabetic effects and the potential mechanism of action of WS-PE (a lipophilic extract from edible flowers of ) were explored with L6 cells and in high-fat diet (HFD) + Streptozocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice .

Design: , HFD + STZ-induced diabetic mice were used as diabetic models to investigate the potential antidiabetic and antidyslipidemic activities. , a novel GLUT4 translocation assay system was established to evaluate the potential effects of WS-PE on GLUT4 translocation. Western blot analysis was adopted to investigate the molecular mechanisms of WS-PE both and .

Results: , WS-PE increased glucose uptake by stimulating GLUT4 expression and translocation, which were regulated by Akt phosphorylation. , the WS-PE treatment ameliorated the hyperglycemia, IR, and dyslipidemia and reversed hepatic steatosis and pancreatic damage in diabetic mice. The WS-PE treatment increased GLUT4 expression by Akt activation in WAT and skeletal muscle. Akt activation stimulated GSK3β phosphorylation in liver and skeletal muscles, indicating that WS-PE showed regulatory effects on glycogen synthesis in liver and skeletal muscles.

Conclusion: These and results indicated that the WS-PE treatment exerted antidiabetic effects by activating Akt/GLUT4 and Akt/GSK3β.