Hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects of a polysaccharide from Fructus Corni in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Type-2 diabetes mellitus and its related complications including dyslipidemia and oxidative stress have been threating the health of a large number of patients all over the world. In this study, FCPC, one polysaccharide fraction separated from the polysaccharides of Chinese medicine Fructus Corni (FCPs), revealed obvious inhibitory effects against α-amylase and α-glucosidase, and marked insulin-sensitizing effect by increasing insulin secretion and promoting pancreatic β cell proliferation. In addition, in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats, the polysaccharide fraction not only significantly restrained the increase of food (p < 0.05) and water (p < 0.01) intake at 800 mg/kg, but also significantly controlled the increase of levels for sugar (p < 0.01), insulin (p < 0.05) and HOMA-IR value (p < 0.05) in blood at 800 mg/kg on 42th day. Meanwhile, the reduced glycogen contents in liver (p < 0.01) and skeletal (p < 0.01) muscle caused by STZ were prominently improved, while the dyslipidemia status and oxidative damage were markedly ameliorated. Therefore, FCPC could be developed to natural medicines and functional foods in the treatment of diabetes and its complications including dyslipidemia status and oxidative stress.