Anti-diabetic effects of blue honeyberry on high-fed-diet-induced type II diabetic mouse

Anshul Sharma; Joo Wan Kim; Sae-Kwang Ku; Jae-Suk Choi; Hae-Jeung Lee

doi:10.4162/nrp.2019.13.5.367

Anti-diabetic effects of blue honeyberry on high-fed-diet-induced type II diabetic mouse

Nutr Res Pract. 2019 Oct;13(5):367-376. doi: 10.4162/nrp.2019.13.5.367. Epub 2019 Jun 12.

Authors

Anshul Sharma¹, Joo Wan Kim², Sae-Kwang Ku³, Jae-Suk Choi⁴, Hae-Jeung Lee¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Food and Nutrition, College of BioNano Technology, Gachon University, 1342 Seongnamdaero, Sujeong-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggi 13120, Republic of Korea.
² Aribio Co. Ltd., #2-301, Pangyo Seven Venture Valley, Gyeonggi 13487, Republic of Korea.
³ Department of Anatomy and Histology, College of Korean Medicine, Daegu Haany University, Gyeongbuk 38610, Republic of Korea.
⁴ Major in Food Biotechnology, Division of Bioindustry, College of Medical and Life Sciences, Silla University, 140, Baegyang-daero 700beon-gil, Sasang-gu, Busan 46958, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

Background/objective: The blue honeysuckle berry (Lonicera caerulea var. edulis L.) is a small deciduous shrub belonging to the Caprifoliaceae family that is native to Russia, China, Japan, and Korea. The berry of this shrub is edible, sweet and juicy and is commonly known as the blue honeyberry (BHB). This study examined the anti-diabetic potential of BHB on high-fat-diet-induced mild diabetic mice. The hypoglycemic, and nephroprotective effects of the 12-week oral administration of blue honeyberry extract were analyzed.

Materials/methods: The hypoglycemic effects were based on the observed changes in insulin, blood glucose, and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). Furthermore, the changes in the weight of the pancreas, including its histopathology and immunohistochemical investigation were also performed. Moreover, the nephroprotective effects were analyzed by observing the changes in kidney weight, its histopathology, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and serum creatinine levels.

Results: The results showed that the high-fat diet (HFD)-induced control mice showed a noticeable increase in blood glucose, insulin, HbA1c, BUN, and creatinine levels. Furthermore, growth was observed in lipid droplet deposition related to the degenerative lesions in the vacuolated renal tubules with the evident enlargement and hyperplasia of the pancreatic islets. In addition, in the endocrine pancreas, there was an increase in the insulin-and glucagon-producing cells, as well as in the insulin/glucagon cell ratios. On the other hand, compared to the HFD-treated mice group, all these diabetic and related complications were ameliorated significantly in a dose-dependent manner after 84 days of the continuous oral administration of BHBe at 400, 200 and 100 mg/kg, and a dramatic resettlement in the hepatic glucose-regulating enzyme activities was observed.

Conclusions: By assessing the key parameters for T2DM, the present study showed that the BHBe could act as a potential herbal agent to cure diabetes (type II) and associated ailments in HFD-induced mice.

Keywords: Insulin; bun; creatinine; glucagon; kidney; metformin; pancreas.