title: Pharmacological investigations of the anti-diabetic effect of Cortex Moutan and its active component paeonol.
abstract: Cortex Moutan (CM, root bark of Paeonia suffruticosa Andr.) is one of the common herbs found in anti-diabetic traditional Chinese medicine formulae. To study the potential anti-diabetic mechanisms of CM, four in vitro models (intestinal brush border membrane vesicles (BBMV), rat hepatoma cell line H4IIE, human skin fibroblasts cell line Hs68 and mouse adipocytes 3T3-L1) were used. CM showed significant in vitro anti-diabetic effects by inhibiting glucose uptake of BBMV and enhancing glucose uptake into Hs68 and 3T3-L1 cells. Using bioassay-guided fractionation, paeonol was confirmed to be one of the active constituents for inhibiting BBMV glucose uptake. With neonatal-streptozotocin diabetic rats, paeonol (200 and 400mg/kgbody wt.) was found to improve oral glucose tolerance in vivo. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the anti-diabetic effect of paeonol.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chinese Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New territories, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Y W
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: T W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: F C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: W T
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Law
authors.forename: C T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Che
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.forename: K P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Fung
authors.forename: Y Y
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: C B S
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Lau
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose; D002478:Cells, Cultured / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000517:prevention & control; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D029596:Paeonia; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018517:Plant Roots; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013311:Streptozocin
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts; D013311:Streptozocin; D005947:Glucose