Momordica charantia extracts ameliorate insulin resistance by regulating the expression of SOCS-3 and JNK in type 2 diabetes mellitus rats.
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ABSTRACT: Momordica charantia L. (Cucurbitaceae) has long been widely used as a traditional remedy for diabetes mellitus in some countries. However, detailed antidiabetic mechanisms are largely unknown.This study clarified the ameliorating effects of M. charantia ethanol extracts (MCE) on the insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rats.T2DM rat model was established by high-fat diet and streptozotocin (STZ) injection. Diabetic rats were randomized into five groups: the model control group (n?=?8) (common diet), the high-fat diet metformin (50?mg/kg/d), and the three-dose MCE (100, 200, and 400?mg/kg/d) groups (n?=?8 each). After 8??weeks, the fasting serum glucose, insulin, TNF-?, and IL-6 were measured, and the relevant factors of glucose and insulin were monitored by glycogen dyeing, RT-PCR, and western blot, respectively.The 8-week treatment of 400?mg/kg MCE significantly lowered body weight (330.1 versus 365.9?g), serum glucose (7.41 versus 16.63?mmol/L), insulin (12.06 versus 15.89 mIU/L), TNF-? (52.72 versus 81.83?ng/L), and IL-6 (104.81 versus 135.74?ng/L) in comparison with those of the diabetic control group (p?CONCLUSIONSMCE can ameliorate insulin resistance in T2DM rats. This effect may be related to the regulation of mRNA and protein levels of SOCS-3 and JNK.
<h4>Context</h4>Momordica charantia L. (Cucurbitaceae) has long been widely used as a traditional remedy for diabetes mellitus in some countries. However, detailed antidiabetic mechanisms are largely unknown.<h4>Objectives</h4>This study clarified the ameliorating effects of M. charantia ethanol extracts (MCE) on the insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rats.<h4>Materials and methods</h4>T2DM rat model was established by high-fat diet and streptozotocin (STZ) injection. Diabetic ...[more]
Project description:This study evaluated the efficacy of Momordica charantia (MC; bitter melon) extracts against andropause symptoms. We fermented MC with Lactobacillus plantarum and verified the ability of the fermented MC extracts (FMEs) to control testosterone deficiency by using aging male rats as an animal model of andropause. FME administration considerably increased total and free testosterone levels, muscle mass, forced swimming time, and total and motile sperm counts in aging male rats. In contrast, sex hormone-binding globulin, retroperitoneal fat, serum cholesterol, and triglyceride levels were significantly reduced in the treated groups compared to the non-treated control aging male rats. Furthermore, we observed that FME enhanced the expression of testosterone biosynthesis-related genes but reduced the expression of testosterone degradation-related genes in a mouse Leydig cell line. These results suggest that FME has effective pharmacological activities that increase and restore free testosterone levels and that FME may be employed as a promising natural product for alleviating testosterone deficiency syndrome.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10068-020-00872-x.
Project description:BackgroundDoxorubicin (DOX) is a first-line chemotherapeutic drug for various malignancies that causes cardiotoxicity. Plant-derived exosome-like nanovesicles (P-ELNs) are growing as novel therapeutic agents. Here, we investigated the protective effects in DOX cardiotoxicity of ELNs from Momordica charantia L. (MC-ELNs), a medicinal plant with antioxidant activity.ResultsWe isolated MC-ELNs using ultracentrifugation and characterized them with canonical mammalian extracellular vesicles features. In vivo studies proved that MC-ELNs ameliorated DOX cardiotoxicity with enhanced cardiac function and myocardial structure. In vitro assays revealed that MC-ELNs promoted cell survival, diminished reactive oxygen species, and protected mitochondrial integrity in DOX-treated H9c2 cells. We found that DOX treatment decreased the protein level of p62 through ubiquitin-dependent degradation pathway in H9c2 and NRVM cells. However, MC-ELNs suppressed DOX-induced p62 ubiquitination degradation, and the recovered p62 bound with Keap1 promoting Nrf2 nuclear translocation and the expressions of downstream gene HO-1. Furthermore, both the knockdown of Nrf2 and the inhibition of p62-Keap1 interaction abrogated the cardioprotective effect of MC-ELNs.ConclusionsOur findings demonstrated the therapeutic beneficials of MC-ELNs via increasing p62 protein stability, shedding light on preventive approaches for DOX cardiotoxicity.
Project description:Momordica charantia (bitter gourd) has been used in the traditional system of medicine for the treatment of various diseases. Anticancer activity of M. charantia extracts has been demonstrated by numerous in vitro and in vivo studies. In the present study, we investigated the differentiation inducing potential of fractionated M. charantia seed extracts in human myeloid HL60 cells. We found that the HL60 cells treated with the fractionated seed extracts differentiated into granulocytic lineage as characterized by NBT staining, CD11b expression, and specific esterase activity. The differentiation inducing principle was found to be heat-stable, and organic in nature. The differentiation was accompanied by a downregulation of c-myc transcript, indicating the involvement of c-myc pathway, at least in part, in differentiation. Taken together these results indicate that fractionated extracts of M. charantia seeds possess differentiation inducing activity and therefore can be evaluated for their potential use in differentiation therapy for leukemia in combination with other inducers of differentiation.
Project description:Mining the Bitter Melon (Momordica charantia L.) Seed Transcriptome by 454 Analysis of Non-Normalized and Normalized cDNA Populations for Conjugated Fatty Acid Metabolism-Related Genes