title: Preventative effect of Zingiber officinale on insulin resistance in a high-fat high-carbohydrate diet-fed rat model and its mechanism of action.
abstract: Insulin resistance is a core component of metabolic syndrome and usually precedes the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. We have examined the preventative effect of an ethanol extract of ginger (Zingiber officinale, Zingiberaceae) on insulin resistance in a high-fat high-carbohydrate (HFHC) diet-fed rat model of metabolic syndrome. The HFHC control rats displayed severe insulin resistance, whilst rats treated with ginger extract (200 mg/kg) during HFHC diet feeding showed a significant improvement of insulin sensitivity using the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) after 10 weeks (p < 0.01). An in vitro mechanistic study showed that (S)-[6]-gingerol, the major pungent phenolic principle in ginger, dose-dependently (from 50 to 150 μM) increased AMPK α-subunit phosphorylation in L6 skeletal muscle cells. This was accompanied by a time-dependent marked increment of PGC-1α mRNA expression and mitochondrial content in L6 skeletal muscle cells. These results suggest that the protection from HFHC diet-induced insulin resistance by ginger is likely associated with the increased capacity of energy metabolism by its major active component (S)-[6]-gingerol.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Yiming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Van H
authors.initials: VH
authors.lastname: Tran
authors.forename: Bhavani P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Kota
authors.forename: Srinivas
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nammi
authors.forename: Colin C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Duke
authors.forename: Basil D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Roufogalis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002396:Catechols / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D059305:Diet, High-Fat; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects; D005233:Fatty Alcohols / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D020939:Zingiber officinale / Q000737:chemistry*; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D002396:Catechols; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D005233:Fatty Alcohols; D010936:Plant Extracts; C007845:gingerol