Antihyperglycemic and antioxidative effects of a herbal formulation of Radix Astragali,Radix Codonopsis and Cortex Lycii in a mouse model of type 2 diabetes mellitus |
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| Authors: | Judy Yuet‐Wa Chan Fung‐Chun Lam Ping‐Chung Leung Chun‐Tao Che Kwok‐Pui Fung |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Institute of Chinese Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China;2. Department of Biochemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China;3. School of Chinese Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China |
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| Abstract: | There is emerging evidence that the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which leads to dysfunction of pancreatic β‐cells, is a major factor in the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Antioxidation is one of the therapeutic strategies to overwhelm the imbalance in ROS production. In this study, a herbal formulation SR10, comprising Radix Astragali, Radix Codonopsis and Cortex Lycii, was examined for its antidiabetic and antioxidative effects using the diabetic +db/+db mouse model. The results showed that SR10 was effective in decreasing the blood glucose level in chronic treatment by improving β‐cell function. The activities and expression of antioxidant enzymes, catalase and superoxide dismutase, were up‐regulated when treated with SR10. Moreover, SR10 treatment did not exhibit any toxic effect to the host. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
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| Keywords: | +db/+db mouse SR10 antioxidant enzymes |
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