Berberine improves glucose metabolism in diabetic rats by inhibition of hepatic gluconeogenesis.

Berberine (BBR) is a compound originally identified in a Chinese herbal medicine Huanglian (Coptis chinensis French). It improves glucose metabolism in type 2 diabetic patients. The mechanisms involve in activation of adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase (AMPK) and improvement of insulin...

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Main Authors: Xuan Xia, Jinhua Yan, Yunfeng Shen, Kuanxiao Tang, Jun Yin, Yanhua Zhang, Dongjie Yang, Hua Liang, Jianping Ye, Jianping Weng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2011-02-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0016556&type=printable
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author Xuan Xia
Jinhua Yan
Yunfeng Shen
Kuanxiao Tang
Jun Yin
Yanhua Zhang
Dongjie Yang
Hua Liang
Jianping Ye
Jianping Weng
author_facet Xuan Xia
Jinhua Yan
Yunfeng Shen
Kuanxiao Tang
Jun Yin
Yanhua Zhang
Dongjie Yang
Hua Liang
Jianping Ye
Jianping Weng
author_sort Xuan Xia
collection DOAJ
description Berberine (BBR) is a compound originally identified in a Chinese herbal medicine Huanglian (Coptis chinensis French). It improves glucose metabolism in type 2 diabetic patients. The mechanisms involve in activation of adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase (AMPK) and improvement of insulin sensitivity. However, it is not clear if BBR reduces blood glucose through other mechanism. In this study, we addressed this issue by examining liver response to BBR in diabetic rats, in which hyperglycemia was induced in Sprague-Dawley rats by high fat diet. We observed that BBR decreased fasting glucose significantly. Gluconeogenic genes, Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) and Glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase), were decreased in liver by BBR. Hepatic steatosis was also reduced by BBR and expression of fatty acid synthase (FAS) was inhibited in liver. Activities of transcription factors including Forkhead transcription factor O1 (FoxO1), sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c (SREBP1) and carbohydrate responsive element-binding protein (ChREBP) were decreased. Insulin signaling pathway was not altered in the liver. In cultured hepatocytes, BBR inhibited oxygen consumption and reduced intracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) level. The data suggest that BBR improves fasting blood glucose by direct inhibition of gluconeogenesis in liver. This activity is not dependent on insulin action. The gluconeogenic inhibition is likely a result of mitochondria inhibition by BBR. The observation supports that BBR improves glucose metabolism through an insulin-independent pathway.
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publishDate 2011-02-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
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series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj-art-11b6e8315d25444c8fe9e4e020c8a3672025-08-20T03:44:55ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032011-02-0162e1655610.1371/journal.pone.0016556Berberine improves glucose metabolism in diabetic rats by inhibition of hepatic gluconeogenesis.Xuan XiaJinhua YanYunfeng ShenKuanxiao TangJun YinYanhua ZhangDongjie YangHua LiangJianping YeJianping WengBerberine (BBR) is a compound originally identified in a Chinese herbal medicine Huanglian (Coptis chinensis French). It improves glucose metabolism in type 2 diabetic patients. The mechanisms involve in activation of adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase (AMPK) and improvement of insulin sensitivity. However, it is not clear if BBR reduces blood glucose through other mechanism. In this study, we addressed this issue by examining liver response to BBR in diabetic rats, in which hyperglycemia was induced in Sprague-Dawley rats by high fat diet. We observed that BBR decreased fasting glucose significantly. Gluconeogenic genes, Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) and Glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase), were decreased in liver by BBR. Hepatic steatosis was also reduced by BBR and expression of fatty acid synthase (FAS) was inhibited in liver. Activities of transcription factors including Forkhead transcription factor O1 (FoxO1), sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c (SREBP1) and carbohydrate responsive element-binding protein (ChREBP) were decreased. Insulin signaling pathway was not altered in the liver. In cultured hepatocytes, BBR inhibited oxygen consumption and reduced intracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) level. The data suggest that BBR improves fasting blood glucose by direct inhibition of gluconeogenesis in liver. This activity is not dependent on insulin action. The gluconeogenic inhibition is likely a result of mitochondria inhibition by BBR. The observation supports that BBR improves glucose metabolism through an insulin-independent pathway.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0016556&type=printable
spellingShingle Xuan Xia
Jinhua Yan
Yunfeng Shen
Kuanxiao Tang
Jun Yin
Yanhua Zhang
Dongjie Yang
Hua Liang
Jianping Ye
Jianping Weng
Berberine improves glucose metabolism in diabetic rats by inhibition of hepatic gluconeogenesis.
PLoS ONE
title Berberine improves glucose metabolism in diabetic rats by inhibition of hepatic gluconeogenesis.
title_full Berberine improves glucose metabolism in diabetic rats by inhibition of hepatic gluconeogenesis.
title_fullStr Berberine improves glucose metabolism in diabetic rats by inhibition of hepatic gluconeogenesis.
title_full_unstemmed Berberine improves glucose metabolism in diabetic rats by inhibition of hepatic gluconeogenesis.
title_short Berberine improves glucose metabolism in diabetic rats by inhibition of hepatic gluconeogenesis.
title_sort berberine improves glucose metabolism in diabetic rats by inhibition of hepatic gluconeogenesis
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0016556&type=printable
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AT kuanxiaotang berberineimprovesglucosemetabolismindiabeticratsbyinhibitionofhepaticgluconeogenesis
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AT jianpingye berberineimprovesglucosemetabolismindiabeticratsbyinhibitionofhepaticgluconeogenesis
AT jianpingweng berberineimprovesglucosemetabolismindiabeticratsbyinhibitionofhepaticgluconeogenesis