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Published in: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 1/2021

Open Access 01-12-2021 | Respiratory Microbiota | Research article

Ethanol extract of mulberry leaves partially restores the composition of intestinal microbiota and strengthens liver glycogen fragility in type 2 diabetic rats

Authors: Zhan-Zhong Liu, Qing-Hua Liu, Zhao Liu, Jia-Wei Tang, Eng-Guan Chua, Fen Li, Xue-Song Xiong, Meng-Meng Wang, Peng-Bo Wen, Xin-Yi Shi, Xiang-Yu Xi, Xiao Zhang, Liang Wang

Published in: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies | Issue 1/2021

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Abstract

Background

Mulberry leaf as a traditional Chinese medicine is able to treat obesity, diabetes, and dyslipidemia. It is well known that diabetes leads to intestinal microbiota dysbiosis. It is also recently discovered that liver glycogen structure is impaired in diabetic animals. Since mulberry leaves are able to improve the diabetic conditions through reducing blood glucose level, it would be interesting to investigate whether they have any positive effects on intestinal microbiota and liver glycogen structure.

Methods

In this study, we first determined the bioactive components of ethanol extract of mulberry leaves via high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS). Murine animal models were divided into three groups, normal Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, high-fat diet (HFD) and streptozotocin (STZ) induced type 2 diabetic rats, and HFD/STZ-induced rats administered with ethanol extract of mulberry leaves (200 mg/kg/day). Composition of intestinal microbiota was analyzed via metagenomics by sequencing the V3-V4 region of 16S rDNAs. Liver glycogen structure was characterized through size exclusion chromatography (SEC). Both Student’s t-test and Tukey’s test were used for statistical analysis.

Results

A group of type 2 diabetic rat models were successfully established. Intestinal microbiota analysis showed that ethanol extract of mulberry leaves could partially change intestinal microbiota back to normal conditions. In addition, liver glycogen was restored from fragile state to stable state through administration of ethanol extract of mulberry leaves.

Conclusions

This study confirms that the ethanol extract of mulberry leaves (MLE) ameliorates intestinal microbiota dysbiosis and strengthens liver glycogen fragility in diabetic rats. These finding can be helpful in discovering the novel therapeutic targets with the help of further investigations.
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Metadata
Title
Ethanol extract of mulberry leaves partially restores the composition of intestinal microbiota and strengthens liver glycogen fragility in type 2 diabetic rats
Authors
Zhan-Zhong Liu
Qing-Hua Liu
Zhao Liu
Jia-Wei Tang
Eng-Guan Chua
Fen Li
Xue-Song Xiong
Meng-Meng Wang
Peng-Bo Wen
Xin-Yi Shi
Xiang-Yu Xi
Xiao Zhang
Liang Wang
Publication date
01-12-2021
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies / Issue 1/2021
Electronic ISSN: 2662-7671
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-021-03342-x

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