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Smilax china L. Polyphenols Improves Insulin Resistance and Obesity in High-fat Diet-induced Mice Through IRS/AKT-AMPK and NF-κB Signaling Pathways

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Abstract

Smilax china L. is an important herb used in traditional Chinese medicine. In this study, the mechanism of Smilax china L. polyphenols (SCP) on insulin resistance and anti-obesity in mice induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) was investigated. Fifty female mice were randomly divided into five groups: control, HFD and low, medium, and high doses of SCP for 70 d. SCP significantly decreased intraperitoneal adipose tissue index, body weight gain, liver lipids, and serum inflammatory factor levels. Blood glucose and insulin concentrations, as well as insulin resistance index in SCP, were significantly lower than those in HFD. In addition, SCP markedly up-regulated the gene expression of glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4), insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1), insulin receptor substrate 2 (IRS2), serine-threonine kinase (AKT), Acyl-CoA oxidase (ACO), and protein kinase A (PKA), and down-regulated the expression of mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1), sterol-responsive element-binding protein-1c (SREBP1c), fatty acid synthase (FAS), 3-hydroxy-3-methyl glutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR), and forkhead box protein O1 (FOXO1). SCP significantly increased the protein expression of AKT, GLUT4, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), phosphorylated-AMPK (p-AMPK), phosphorylated-AKT (p-AKT), and uncoupling protein 1 (UCP-1), and decreased the expression of SREBP1c, FAS, HMGCR, phosphorylation of IKBα (p-IKBα), and nuclear factor kappa B subunit p65 (P65) in the liver. Overall, SCP effectively reduced HFD-induced insulin resistance and obesity in mice, partly through NF-κB and IRS/AKT-AMPK signaling pathways to regulate inflammatory factors. Therefore, SCP may improve lifestyle diseases.

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Funding

This work was sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No: 82060165 and 81760157).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Natural Product and Functional Food, School of Food Science and Engineering, Jiangxi Agricultural University, 330045, Nanchang, China

    Meng Xu, Li Kong, Lezhen Lin & Guodong Zheng

  2. Engineering Research Center of Biomass Conversion, Ministry of Education, Nanchang University, 330047, Nanchang, China

    Hui Xue

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Contributions

Meng Xu: Formal analysis, Writing-original draft, Investigation, Data curation. Hui Xue: Writing - review & editing, Data curation. Li Kong: Data curation, Formal analysis. Lezhen Lin: Writing - review, Formal analysis. Guodong Zheng: Funding acquisition, Conceptualization, Writing - review & editing, Project administration, Validation.

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Correspondence to Guodong Zheng.

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The use of the animals and experimental methods were in compliant with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the Chinese Association for Laboratory Animal Science. The experimental protocols were approved by the Animal Care and Use Committee of the Jiangxi Agricultural University.

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Xu, M., Xue, H., Kong, L. et al. Smilax china L. Polyphenols Improves Insulin Resistance and Obesity in High-fat Diet-induced Mice Through IRS/AKT-AMPK and NF-κB Signaling Pathways. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 78, 299–306 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-023-01052-y

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