Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
Phytother Res. 2013 Jul;27(7):1042-7. doi: 10.1002/ptr.4836. Epub 2012 Sep 5.
Crocin is the only water soluble carotenoid in nature, and it has a known powerful antioxidant activity. The aim of this work was to investigate the hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects of crocin in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type 2 diabetic rats. Neonatal male Wistar rats (2-5 days old) were randomly divided into five groups. Three groups were intraperitoneally injected with STZ (90 mg/kg body weight). Among them, two groups were treated with intraperitoneal injection of crocin (50 or 100 mg/kg), and the third group was treated with vehicle only. Two control groups were also considered, and one of them was treated with crocin. After 5 months, their blood and urine samples were collected, and the animals were sacrified. The results indicate a significant lower body weight (P < 0.001) and abnormal parameters in the diabetic rats compared with the normal group. An administration of both doses of crocin significantly decreased the levels of serum glucose, advanced glycation end products, triglyceride, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein and increased the high-density lipoprotein in the diabetic rats. The treatments were also effective in decreasing HbA1c and microalbuminuria, as well as homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance as a measure of insulin resistance in the diabetic rats.
西红花苷是自然界中唯一一种水溶性类胡萝卜素，具有很强的抗氧化活性。本研究旨在探讨西红花苷对链脲佐菌素（STZ）诱导的 2 型糖尿病大鼠的降血糖和降血脂作用。新生雄性 Wistar 大鼠（2-5 日龄）随机分为五组。三组大鼠腹腔注射 STZ（90mg/kg 体重）。其中两组给予腹腔注射西红花苷（50 或 100mg/kg），第三组给予生理盐水处理。同时设立两个对照组，其中一个给予西红花苷处理。5 个月后收集大鼠的血液和尿液样本，并进行安乐死。结果表明，与正常组相比，糖尿病大鼠的体重明显下降（P<0.001），各项参数异常。两种剂量的西红花苷均可显著降低糖尿病大鼠的血清葡萄糖、晚期糖基化终产物、甘油三酯、总胆固醇和低密度脂蛋白水平，同时升高高密度脂蛋白水平。治疗还可有效降低糖尿病大鼠的糖化血红蛋白和微量白蛋白尿，以及稳态模型评估胰岛素抵抗，作为衡量胰岛素抵抗的指标。
