School of Functional Food and Wine, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, China.
Food Funct. 2020 May 1;11(5):4339-4355. doi: 10.1039/d0fo00395f. Epub 2020 May 5.
The use of plant-based beverages to interfere with the onset of diabetes may be a promising approach towards type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The present study investigated the antidiabetic effects of the oral consumption of white tea and G. pentaphyllum (Jiaogulan), especially their combination on HFD/STZ-induced T2DM in C57BL/6 mice. White tea and Jiaogulan administration could mitigate glycolipid metabolic disorders in the diabetic mice by different degrees. White tea administration markedly reduced the blood glucose and ameliorated the glucose intolerance compared to the T2DM mice. Moreover, white tea consumption could protect the islet β-cells against oxidative and inflammatory damage, related to the Nrf-2 signaling pathway. Jiaogulan prominently attenuated liver lipid accumulation by downregulation of SREBP levels. However, interestingly, when white tea was used in combination with Jiaogulan, these effects were enhanced to a certain extent. In particular, the combination significantly suppressed the hepatic G6Pase expressions by activating the AMPK pathway, thus inhibiting gluconeogenesis and improving insulin resistance. On the other hand, the combined formula could regulate the PPAR expressions and ameliorate the hepatic inflammation, further activating the IRS/PI3K/AKT pathway and exerting the antidiabetic potential. Therefore, it was speculated that the antidiabetic effect of this combination may be associated with the AMPK/PI3K pathways. Our findings might provide insight into the combined use of white tea with Jiaogulan tea as a potential functional beverage or food for preventing T2DM.
植物基饮料用于干扰糖尿病的发生可能是 2 型糖尿病（T2DM）的一种有前途的方法。本研究调查了白茶和绞股蓝（Jiaogulan）口服摄入对 HFD/STZ 诱导的 C57BL/6 小鼠 T2DM 的抗糖尿病作用，特别是它们的组合作用。白茶和绞股蓝给药可以不同程度地减轻糖尿病小鼠的糖脂代谢紊乱。白茶给药可显著降低血糖，改善葡萄糖耐量，与 T2DM 小鼠相比。此外，白茶的摄入可以保护胰岛β细胞免受氧化和炎症损伤，与 Nrf-2 信号通路有关。绞股蓝通过下调 SREBP 水平显著减轻肝脏脂质积累。然而，有趣的是，当白茶与绞股蓝联合使用时，这些作用在一定程度上得到了增强。特别是，该组合通过激活 AMPK 途径显著抑制肝 G6Pase 的表达，从而抑制糖异生和改善胰岛素抵抗。另一方面，该联合配方可以调节 PPAR 的表达，改善肝炎症，进一步激活 IRS/PI3K/AKT 途径，发挥抗糖尿病作用。因此，据推测，这种组合的抗糖尿病作用可能与 AMPK/PI3K 途径有关。我们的研究结果可能为白茶与绞股蓝茶联合作为预防 T2DM 的潜在功能性饮料或食品提供新的见解。
