Effect of astragalus polysaccharide on the level of blood free fatty acids in type 2 diabetic rats

Song Jie; Hu Yangqian; Liu Jian; Ouyang Jingping; Li Jing

doi:10.3760/cma.j.issn.1673-4777.2014.10.020

Abstract：Objective To investigate the effect of astragalus polysaccharides (APS) treatment on the level of blood free fatty acid and its mechanism.Methods Forty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 4 groups:the control group,type 2 diabetes(T2DM) group [high-heat diet and a low dose of streptozotocin(35 mg/kg) by end intravenous injection],APS group [APS 400mg/(kg · d) by irritating the stomach with the solution] and APS and T2DM group [T2DM Wistar rats were treated with APS 400mg/(kg · d) by irritating the stomach with the solution].After treatment of 5 weeks,the levels of serum FFA and insulin were assayed;the expression of adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase (AMPK),phosphorylated adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase(p-AMPK),cytomembrane fatty acid translocase CD36 (FAT/CD36) and carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPT1) were assessed by Western blotting method.Results Serum free fatty acid (0.54 ± 0.13)mmol/L,blood glucose level (20.5 ± 3.2) mmol/L and body weight (223 ± 3) g of T2DM group were obviously higher than those of other groups (P ＜ 0.05).Blood glucose levels (11.1 ± 2.3) mmol/L of Astragalus Polysaccharides and T2DM group were significantly lower compared with T2DM group (20.5 ± 3.2) mmol/L (P ＜ 0.05),while insulin levels were not significantly different between T2DM group (P ＞ 0.05).The levels of the p-AMPK,cytomembrane FAT/ CD36 and CPT1 expressions of Astragalus Polysaccharides were lower (P ＜ 0.01),but the expression of total AMPK and FAT/CD36 showed no significant difference (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion APS can reduce the level of FFA in T2DM rat and improve the insulin resistance of liver tissue,and this protective mechanism may be relative to the AMPK activation.