Hypoglycemic Mechanism of the Berberine Organic Acid Salt under the Synergistic Effect of Intestinal Flora and Oxidative Stress

• Published in: Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity 2018-01, Vol.2018 (2018), p.1-13
• Main Authors: Yuan, Ke, Li, Jing-Wan, Hu, Ya-Nan, Cui, Hong-Xin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acids; Animals; Bacteroidetes - drug effects; Berberine - pharmacology; Berberine - therapeutic use; Chemistry; Dextrose; Diabetes; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental - drug therapy; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental - metabolism; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental - pathology; Fasting; Feces - microbiology; Food; Gastrointestinal Microbiome - drug effects; Glucose; Glucose - metabolism; Hypoglycemia; Hypoglycemic Agents - pharmacology; Hypoglycemic Agents - therapeutic use; Inflammation; Insulin resistance; JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases - genetics; JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases - metabolism; Laboratory animals; Liver - pathology; Male; Metabolic disorders; Microbiota (Symbiotic organisms); Oxidative stress; Oxidative Stress - drug effects; Pathogenesis; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases - genetics; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases - metabolism; Proteins; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Rodents; Signal Transduction - drug effects; Studies; Sucrose; Toll-Like Receptor 4 - genetics; Toll-Like Receptor 4 - metabolism; Type 2 diabetes
• ISSN: 1942-0900; 1942-0994
• DOI: 10.1155/2018/8930374

Both alterations to the intestinal microflora and chronic systemic inflammation predispose towards type 2 diabetes (T2D). Changes in the composition of the intestinal microflora are associated with glucose metabolism changes in rats with T2D. Here, we demonstrate that a berberine fumarate (BF) has a hypoglycemic effect by regulating the intestinal microflora and metabolism of diabetic rats. The T2D rats had disorders of glucose and lipid metabolism, an abnormal intestinal microflora, fewer butyrate-producing and probiotic-type bacteria, larger numbers of potentially pathogenic and sulfate-reducing bacteria, and tissue inflammation. Administration of berberine fumarate significantly ameliorated the metabolic disorder; increased the populations of Bacteroidetes, Clostridia, Lactobacillales, Prevotellaceae, and Alloprevotella; and reduced those of Bacteroidales, Lachnospiraceae, Rikenellaceae, and Desulfovibrio. In addition, it reduced inflammation, inhibiting the overexpression of TLR4 and p-JNK and increasing the expression of PI3K, GLUT2, and other proteins, which are closely related to oxidative stress, thereby promoting the metabolism of glucose.