Berberine moderates glucose metabolism through the GnRH-GLP-1 and MAPK pathways in the intestine.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Berberine is known to improve glucose and lipid metabolism disorders, but it poorly absorbed into the blood stream from the gut. Therefore, the exact underlying mechanism for berberine is still unknown. In this study, we investigated the effect of berberine on glucose metabolism in diabetic rats and tested the hypothesis that berberine acts directly in the terminal ileums.

Methods

Rats were divided into a control group, diabetic group (DM), low dose of berberine group (BerL) and high dose of berberine group (BerH). Ileum samples were analyzed using a Roche NimbleGen mRNA array, qPCR and immunohistochemistry.

Results

We found that 8 weeks of treatment with berberine significantly decreased fasting blood glucose levels. An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) s

SUBMITTER: Zhang Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4057525 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature