Anti-diabetic effects of puerarin, isolated from Pueraria lobata (Willd.), on streptozotocin-diabetogenic mice through promoting insulin expression and ameliorating metabolic function

Diabetes is a chronic disease characterized by the metabolic disorder in specific tissues. Our present study was designed to assess the potential benefits of puerarin (PR) on hypoglycemic and hypolipemic effects in diabetic mice induced by streptozotocin (STZ). The results achieved from these experiments showed that glycemia in STZ-diabetogenic mice were significantly reduced following the PR administration, while serum insulin concentration was increased. In addition, PR contributed to improving the dyslipidemia conditions. Histopathological examination indicated that the STZ-lesioned pancreas tissue in PR-administrated mice was effectively alleviated. Meanwhile, intrapancreatic protein levels of insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) were up-regulated, respectively. On the other hand, endogenous mRNA levels of skeletal muscle insulin receptor (InsR) and peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor α (PPARα) were increased after administration of PR. Taken together, these findings reveal that puerarin effectively exerts the hypoglycemic and hypolipemic roles, which its potential anti-diabetic activity is associated with elevating insulin expression and maintaining metabolic homoeostasis in STZ-diabetogenic mice.