Lee Bao-Hong, Lee Chia-Chen, Wu She-Ching
Department of Food Science, National Chiayi University, Chiayi City, Taiwan, ROC.
J Sci Food Agric. 2014 Aug;94(11):2266-73. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.6552. Epub 2014 Jan 30.
Ice plant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum) has been used as an anti-diabetic agent in Japan because it contains d-pinitol. The efficacy of ice plant in the regulation of blood glucose is unclear at present. Recently, memory impairment and development of Alzheimer's disease found in diabetic patients are thought to be caused by high blood glucose. The mechanism by which ice plant protects against the impairment of memory and learning abilities caused by high blood glucose remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the protection of ice plant water extracts (IPE) and D-pinitol against memory impairments in a Wistar rat model of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes. We hypothesised that IPE and D-pinitol could suppress blood glucose and elevate insulin sensitivity in these rats.
For memory evaluation, IPE and D-pinitol also improved the passive avoidance task and the working memory task. In addition, inhibition of acetylcholinesterase activity in hippocampus and cortex was found in this rat model administered IPE or D-pinitol. IPE and D-pinitol also markedly elevated superoxide dismutase activity against oxidative stress and reduced malondialdehyde production in hippocampus and cortex of the rats.
These findings indicated that IPE and D-pinitol possess beneficial effects for neural protection and memory ability in a rat model of diabetes.
冰叶日中花（Mesembryanthemum crystallinum）在日本被用作抗糖尿病药物，因为它含有d-松醇。目前，冰叶日中花调节血糖的功效尚不清楚。最近，糖尿病患者出现的记忆障碍和阿尔茨海默病被认为是由高血糖引起的。冰叶日中花预防高血糖引起的记忆和学习能力损害的机制仍不清楚。本研究的目的是评估冰叶日中花水提取物（IPE）和d-松醇对链脲佐菌素（STZ）诱导的糖尿病Wistar大鼠模型记忆障碍的保护作用。我们假设IPE和d-松醇可以抑制这些大鼠的血糖并提高胰岛素敏感性。
在记忆评估中，IPE和d-松醇也改善了被动回避任务和工作记忆任务。此外，在给予IPE或d-松醇的该大鼠模型中，发现海马和皮质中的乙酰胆碱酯酶活性受到抑制。IPE和d-松醇还显著提高了大鼠海马和皮质中针对氧化应激的超氧化物歧化酶活性，并减少了丙二醛的产生。
这些发现表明，IPE和d-松醇对糖尿病大鼠模型的神经保护和记忆能力具有有益作用。
