title: Administration of phytosterols isolated from Aloe vera gel reduce visceral fat mass and improve hyperglycemia in Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats.
abstract: We examined the effects of lophenol (Lo) and cycloartanol (Cy), minor phytosterols of Aloe vera gel, in obese animal model of type II diabetes, Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats. Male ZDF rats were administered Lo and Cy at 25 μg/(kg day) daily for 44 days. Consecutive treatment of phytosterols suppressed the hyperglycemia, and random blood glucose levels after 35 days of treatment were 39.6 and 37.2% lower than the control, in Lo and Cy treatment groups, respectively. Consistent with the random blood glucose level, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) values of phytosterols treated rats were also lower than the control (Lo: 5.5 ± 0.8, Cy: 4.6 ± 0.7 vs. control: 7.2 ± 1.5). In the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) after 28 days of administration, the glucose intolerance was improved in phytosterols treatment groups. Additionally, the continuous administration of Lo and Cy also reduced the serum free fatty acid (FFA) and triglyceride (TG) levels except total cholesterol (T-Cho). Furthermore, the weights of total abdominal fat tissues were significantly lower than the control in ZDF rats with Lo (27.7%) and Cy (26.3%) treatment. These observations suggest that Aloe vera-derived phytosterols could reduce visceral fat accumulation, and would be useful for the improvement of hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia.:
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Function of Food, Division of Food Science and Biotechnology, Graduate school of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Japan. Electronic address:e_misawa@morinagamilk.co.jp.
authors.forename: Eriko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Misawa
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Function of Food, Division of Food Science and Biotechnology, Graduate school of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Japan.
authors.forename: Miyuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Function of Food, Division of Food Science and Biotechnology, Graduate school of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Japan.
authors.forename: Kouji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nomaguchi
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Function of Food, Division of Food Science and Biotechnology, Graduate school of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Japan.
authors.forename: Muneo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Function of Food, Division of Food Science and Biotechnology, Graduate school of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Toida
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Function of Food, Division of Food Science and Biotechnology, Graduate school of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Japan.
authors.forename: Mitsunori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takase
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Function of Food, Division of Food Science and Biotechnology, Graduate school of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Japan.
authors.forename: Keiji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Iwatsuki
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Function of Food, Division of Food Science and Biotechnology, Graduate school of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Japan.
authors.forename: Teruo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawada