Diverse mechanisms of antidiabetic effects of the different procyanidin oligomer types of two different cinnamon species on db/db mice

J Agric Food Chem. 2012 Sep 12;60(36):9144-50. doi: 10.1021/jf3024535. Epub 2012 Aug 30.

Abstract

The procyanidin oligomers are thought to be responsible for the antidiabetic activity of cinnamon. To investigate the hypoglycemic effects of different procyanidin oligomer types, the procyanidin oligomer-rich extracts were prepared from two different cinnamon species. Using high-performance liquid chromatography with purified procyanidin oligomers as reference compounds, we found that the Cinnamomum cassia extract (CC-E) and Cinnamomum tamala extract (CT-E) were rich in B- and A-type procyanidin oligomers, respectively. In the experiment, 8-week-old diabetic (db/db) mice were gavaged with CC-E and CT-E (both 200 mg/kg per day) for 4 weeks. Both CC-E and CT-E exhibited antidiabetic effects. Moreover, histopathological studies of the pancreas, liver, and adipose tissue showed that CC-E promoted lipid accumulation in the adipose tissue and liver, whereas CT-E mainly improved the insulin concentration in the blood and pancreas.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biflavonoids / administration & dosage*
  • Blood Glucose / metabolism
  • Catechin / administration & dosage*
  • Cinnamomum zeylanicum / chemistry*
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / drug therapy*
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / metabolism
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Hypoglycemic Agents / administration & dosage*
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Phytotherapy
  • Plant Extracts / administration & dosage*
  • Proanthocyanidins / administration & dosage*

Substances

  • Biflavonoids
  • Blood Glucose
  • Hypoglycemic Agents
  • Plant Extracts
  • Proanthocyanidins
  • procyanidin
  • Catechin