title: A natural sweetener, Momordica grosvenori, attenuates the imbalance of cellular immune functions in alloxan-induced diabetic mice.
abstract: Momordica grosvenori (MG), a traditional medicinal herb in China used as a substitute sugar for obese and diabetic patients, exhibited an enhancement of immunity. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is among the acute phase proteins that play an important role in the inflammatory process and have antiinflammatory activities with their antioxidant properties. The hypothesis that MG could modulate an imbalance of the cellular immune system and prevent the progression of diabetes mellitus, via induction of HO-1 protein expression was investigated. Diabetes was induced in male Balb/c mice by intraperitoneal injection of alloxan (200 mg/kg). The mice were randomly assigned to non-diabetic and diabetic groups, and further subdivided according to their treatments: control (distilled water), low dose MG (150 mg/kg) and high dose MG (300 mg/kg), which were administered by gavage in 24 h cycles over a 30 day period. MG administration effectively regulated the immune imbalance in diabetic mice, principally by upregulating the CD4(+) T lymphocyte subsets, and remodeling the intracellular cytokine profiles (reducing the expression of pro-inflammatory Th1 cytokines towards a beneficial Th2 pattern), ascribed to its induction and upregulation of HO-1. In conclusion, MG exhibited antidiabetic effects and may be used as a new natural drug for the treatment of diabetes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 13 Hangkong Road, Wuhan 430030, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Fangfang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Weijun
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Wenbo
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: Andreas K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Nussler
authors.forename: Xiufa
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Liegang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000496:Alloxan; D000818:Animals; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D051547:Heme Oxygenase-1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D007109:Immunity / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D029775:Momordica / Q000737:chemistry*; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology; D013549:Sweetening Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D010936:Plant Extracts; D013549:Sweetening Agents; D000496:Alloxan; D051547:Heme Oxygenase-1