Protective Effect of Benzoquinone Isolated from the Roots of L. on Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Mice by Inhibiting the TLR4/NF-κB Signaling Pathway.

BACKGROUND

Studies have demonstrated that the roots of L. , a traditional Chinese medicine, can be used to treat diabetes and diabetes-related diseases. Nevertheless, the potential beneficial effects and mechanism of benzoquinone isolated from the roots of L. (BACR) on diabetes remain unclear.

METHODS

Diabetic Kunming mice were injected with STZ (120 mgkg) in the tail vein. Fasting blood glucose (FBG) and the change of body weight were measured after oral administration of BACR (120, 60, 30 mg/kg/d) every week. The levels of the total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), free fatty acids (FFA), glucosylated hemoglobin (GHb), fasting insulin (FINS), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured. The histological examination of pancreatic tissues and the TLR4/NF-κB pathway was analyzed by RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry and Western blot.

RESULTS

The study found that clearly the BACR obviously reduced the blood glucose, serum lipids, GHb and FINS. In addition, BACR treatment markedly reduced the release of inflammatory factors, including IL-6 and TNF-α, and down-regulated the expression of the TLR4/NF-κB pathway.

CONCLUSION

BACR has potential benefits for the treatment of diabetes by ameliorating metabolic functions and attenuating the inflammatory response via inhibition of the activation of theTLR4/NF-κB pathway.