Ma Li, Zhang Song, Du Mei
College of Life Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
College of Life Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
Nutr Res. 2015 May;35(5):431-9. doi: 10.1016/j.nutres.2015.04.011. Epub 2015 Apr 18.
Cordyceps militaris has long been used in prescriptions of traditional Chinese medicine as a tonic for the treatment of metabolic syndrome. Cordycepin with proven immunomodulatory, antitumor, and hepatoprotective properties is the main active metabolite of C militaris. Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic diseases in which the body is unable to regulate blood sugar levels. Hence, we hypothesized that cordycepin can normalize blood sugar levels and improve the indicators of diabetes. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible effects of cordycepin from C militaris on diabetes in an alloxan-induced diabetic mouse model. Diabetic mice were intraperitoneally administered different doses of cordycepin (8, 24, and 72 mg/kg body weight) daily for 21 days. Acute toxicity test on normal mice was carried out by giving them maximum tolerance dose of cordycepin (3600 mg/kg) daily. A 47% reduction of the blood glucose level, 214% increase of hepatic glycogen content, and significant improvement of oral glucose tolerance were noticed after the effective dose of cordycepin was administered. Polyphagia and polydipsia, the typical symptoms of diabetes, were partly alleviated. Moreover, cordycepin offered protective effects against diabetes-related kidney and spleen injury. Maximum tolerance dose test indicated that cordycepin at the large dose of 3600 mg/kg did not show significant effect on body weight and major organ in normal mice after intraperitoneal administration for 14 days. The results showed that cordycepin from C militaris that elicited hypoglycemic activity contributes to the regulation of glucose metabolism in liver in alloxan-induced diabetic mice. Therefore, a cordycepin treatment during diabetes can improve some of the metabolic syndrome symptoms by regulation of glucose absorption in vivo. Cordycepin may serve as a therapeutic agent in the treatment of diabetes and its related complications.
北虫草长期以来一直被用于中医处方中，作为治疗代谢综合征的滋补品。具有免疫调节、抗肿瘤和保肝特性的虫草素是北虫草的主要活性代谢产物。糖尿病是一组代谢性疾病，身体无法调节血糖水平。因此，我们假设虫草素可以使血糖水平正常化并改善糖尿病指标。本研究的目的是在四氧嘧啶诱导的糖尿病小鼠模型中研究北虫草虫草素对糖尿病的可能影响。糖尿病小鼠每天腹腔注射不同剂量的虫草素（8、24和72毫克/千克体重），持续21天。通过每天给正常小鼠最大耐受剂量的虫草素（3600毫克/千克）进行急性毒性试验。给予有效剂量的虫草素后，血糖水平降低了47%，肝糖原含量增加了214%，口服葡萄糖耐量有显著改善。糖尿病的典型症状多饮多食得到部分缓解。此外，虫草素对糖尿病相关的肾脏和脾脏损伤具有保护作用。最大耐受剂量试验表明，腹腔注射14天后，大剂量3600毫克/千克的虫草素对正常小鼠的体重和主要器官没有显著影响。结果表明，北虫草中的虫草素具有降血糖活性，有助于调节四氧嘧啶诱导的糖尿病小鼠肝脏中的葡萄糖代谢。因此，糖尿病期间进行虫草素治疗可以通过调节体内葡萄糖吸收来改善一些代谢综合征症状。虫草素可能作为治疗糖尿病及其相关并发症的治疗剂。
