Purification, characterization, and hypoglycemic properties of eurocristatine from spores in Fuzhuan brick tea.

Fuzhuan brick tea (FBT) is a Chinese dark tea that is famous for its significant health benefits, in which () strains play a vital role in its postfermentation process. In this study, eurocristatine with hypoglycemic activity was discovered for the first time and purified from the spores of growing in FBT. Eurocristatine (98%) was obtained by D-101 macroporous resin-based column chromatography and preparative high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a C column as the stationary phase and 35% acetonitrile in ultrapure water as the mobile phase. Hypoglycemic activity in a Hep-G2 cell hypoglycemic model was used as a screening indicator during purification. The chemical structure of eurocristatine was characterized by ESI/MS, H NMR and C NMR analyses. The antidiabetic effects of eurocristatine were verified in high-fat diet/streptozocin-induced type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rats. The results showed that eurocristatine significantly reduced fasting blood glucose. Our study demonstrated that eurocristatine, as a newly discovered hypoglycemic active substance, could be considered a potential candidate for the treatment of diabetes and its complications.