title: Baicalein Protects against Type 2 Diabetes via Promoting Islet β-Cell Function in Obese Diabetic Mice.
abstract: In both type 1 (T1D) and type 2 diabetes (T2D), the deterioration of glycemic control over time is primarily caused by an inadequate mass and progressive dysfunction of β-cell, leading to the impaired insulin secretion. Here, we show that dietary supplementation of baicalein, a flavone isolated from the roots of Chinese herb Scutellaria baicalensis, improved glucose tolerance and enhanced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) in high-fat diet (HFD-) induced middle-aged obese mice. Baicalein had no effect on food intake, body weight gain, circulating lipid profile, and insulin sensitivity in obese mice. Using another mouse model of type 2 diabetes generated by high-fat diet (HFD) feeding and low doses of streptozotocin injection, we found that baicalein treatment significantly improved hyperglycemia, glucose tolerance, and blood insulin levels in these middle-aged obese diabetic mice, which are associated with the improved islet β-cell survival and mass. In the in vitro studies, baicalein significantly augmented GSIS and promoted viability of insulin-secreting cells and human islets cultured either in the basal medium or under chronic hyperlipidemic condition. These results demonstrate that baicalein may be a naturally occurring antidiabetic agent by directly modulating pancreatic β-cell function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Nutrition, Foods & Exercises, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Virginia Tech, 1981 Kraft Drive, Corporate Research Center, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Nutrition, Foods & Exercises, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Virginia Tech, 1981 Kraft Drive, Corporate Research Center, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3211-4331
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27412, USA.
authors.forename: Zhenquan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Nutrition, Foods & Exercises, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Virginia Tech, 1981 Kraft Drive, Corporate Research Center, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhen
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Wayne State University, Detroit , MI 48202, USA.
authors.forename: Kequan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Nutrition, Foods & Exercises, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Virginia Tech, 1981 Kraft Drive, Corporate Research Center, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gilbert
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Nutrition, Foods & Exercises, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Virginia Tech, 1981 Kraft Drive, Corporate Research Center, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
authors.forename: Dongmin
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3877-8198
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liu