title: Effect of Alkaloids from Nelumbinis Plumula against Insulin Resistance of High-Fat Diet-Induced Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Mice.
abstract: This study aimed to investigate the effects of total alkaloids from Nelumbinis Plumula (NPA) on insulin resistance (IR) of high-fat diet- (HFD-) induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Rats were fed with HFD for 8 weeks to induce NAFLD. Then, the effect of NPA on ameliorating IR in HFD-induced NAFLD was evaluated. Fasting serum insulin was determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit for insulin following the manufacturer's protocol. Some inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were determined using ELISA kits to assess the inflammatory burden in rats. The results showed that HFD could induce a significant increase in blood glucose and IR in rats. However, rats treated with NPA (400 or 600 mg/kg) showed improved IR and reduction in serum inflammatory cytokines TNF-αand IL-6. Further investigation indicated that NPA could inhibit IR by restoring the insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) and suppressing the expression of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) phosphorylation. The present results supported the view that the pathogenesis of NAFLD was complex with inflammation, together with increasing serum glucose and IR. Also, JNK and IRS phosphorylation were suggested for their involvement in the modulating of IR during NAFLD progression. Therefore, NPA may serve as a potential natural remedy against IR in NAFLD.
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmacy, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou 350122, China; College of Food Science and Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5939-5882
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: College of Food Science and Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Food Science and Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
authors.forename: Zebin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: College of Food Science and Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
authors.forename: Hongliang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: College of Food Science and Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
authors.forename: Baodong
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6117-8417
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zheng
mesh_terms: D000470:Alkaloids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D059305:Diet, High-Fat; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism; D055504:Insulin Receptor Substrate Proteins / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000276:immunology; D048031:JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D031653:Nelumbo; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012639:Seeds; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000470:Alkaloids; D001786:Blood Glucose; D007328:Insulin; D055504:Insulin Receptor Substrate Proteins; D015850:Interleukin-6; C526296:Irs1 protein, rat; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D010936:Plant Extracts; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D048031:JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases