[Effects of chemical constituents of Crossostephium chinense on insulin secretion in rat islets in vitro].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effects of the chemical constituents of the whole herbs of Crossostephium chinense on insulin secretion in rat islets.


METHODS
Islets were isolated from rat pancreata, cultured in vitro, and measured by color signals of dithizone stained digestion solution for detection of pancreatic islets. The morphological observation of islets was carried out by inverted microscope. The effects of test compounds, scopoletin (1), scopolin (2), tanacetin (3), quercetagetin-3,6,7-trimethylether (4) and 5-O-methyl-myo-inositol (5) isolated from the whole herbs of C. chinense, on the insulin secreting level from islets were compared with those of glybenclamide as a positive control substances, and the difference in insulin secreting level from islets between the presence and absence of test compounds was assayed.


RESULTS
There was no difference in basal insulin secretion before and after 2 h incubation period of rat islets. The islets treated with quercetagetin-3,6,7-trimethylether have about 2-fold higher insulin secreting level (P < 0.01) compared a normal control group. The islets treated with 5-O-methyl-myo-inositol have about 1.5-fold higher insulin secreting level (P < 0.05) compared to a normal control group. Whereas the islets treated with scopoletin show about 1.9-fold lower basal insulin secreting level (P < 0.05) than a normal control group.


CONCLUSIONS
In this paper the developed cultivation method of isolated pancreatic islets from rat can be used as a kind of islet-based drug screening model for diabetes mellitus in vitro. Quercetagetin-3,6,7-trimethylether and 5-O-methyl-myo-inositol could enhance rat islet insulin secretion and further in vivo studies are needed to clarify the nature of such an observation. However, scopletin suppress rat islet insulin secretion.
Zou
Lei
L
State Key Laboratory of Natural & Biomimetic Drugs, Department of Natural Medicines, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing10l091, China.
Wu
Qi
Q
Yang
Xiuwei
X
Fu
Dexian
D
D000818:Animals; D019659:Asteraceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism*; D000078790:Insulin Secretion; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D007328:Insulin