Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a type of metabolic illness based on relatively insufficient insulin secretion and insulin resistance (IR) as pathophysiological bases. Currently, it is the main type of diabetes. Hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects of licochalcone A (LicA) on high-fat diet and streptozocin-caused T2DM were studied. LicA can remarkably decline the IR index and blood glucose and serum lipid levels. Also, the treatment of LicA can improve the "three more and one less" phenomenon in T2DM mice, such as excessive drinking, eating, urine, and weight loss. In addition, LicA can improve oral glucose tolerance, pancreatic injury, and liver enlargement in T2DM mice. Network pharmacology analysis demonstrated that the observed pharmacological effects were mediated by regulating the insulin signal transduction pathway. Therefore, the PI3K/Akt-signaling pathway was selected for verification; it was demonstrated that LicA could improve the insulin-signaling pathway, protect islet cells, improve IR, reduce blood glucose levels, and alleviate lipid metabolism disorder. Its mechanism of influence may be closely related to LicA up-regulating the liver and pancreas IRS-2/PI3K/AKT-signaling pathway. Among them, the high-dose group of LicA had the best effect, which provided an idea for the use of LicA as a nutritional agent in the cure of T2DM.
Keywords: hypoglycemic; hypolipidemic; licochalcone A; mechanism; type 2 diabetes mellitus.