Glucose‐lowering effect of Gryllus bimaculatus powder on streptozotocin‐induced diabetes through the AKT/mTOR pathway

Abstract

This study was carried out to elucidate the antidiabetic effects of Gryllus bimaculatus powder using a streptozotocin (STZ)‐induced rat model of type I diabetes. Administration of the insect powder significantly rescued representative diabetes markers (i.e., insulin and C‐peptide) in STZ‐treated rats. Improved glucose tolerance test (GTT) and insulin tolerance test (ITT) results were also observed, indicating that Gryllus bimaculatus powder exerts antidiabetic effects. Gryllus bimaculatus powder administration rescued STZ‐induced alterations in both islet morphology and insulin staining patterns. The extract increased antiapoptotic Bcl2 expression and decreased proapoptotic Bax and active caspase 3 expressions. In addition, the Gryllus bimaculatus powder supplementation enhanced AKT/mTOR pathway, a key marker of the state of anabolic metabolism, and its downstream effector, mTOR. Collectively, our results suggest that Gryllus bimaculatus contributes to the maintenance of pancreatic β‐cell function and morphology against a diabetic state through the regulations against apoptosis and anabolic metabolism.

The hepatoprotective effects of fennel seeds extract and trans‐Anethole in streptozotocin‐induced liver injury in rats

“…Diabetes induction was done by the intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of STZ (65 mg/kg body) (Park et al., 2020). 72 hr after STZ injection, rats with fasting blood glucose (FBS) levels greater than 250 mg/dl and glycosuria were considered diabetic.…”

Insights into the genomic evolution of insects from cricket genomes

“…including rearing for consumption, issues relevant to its biochemical composition (Ghosh et al, 2017), human health and safety (Ahn et al, 2011;Ryu et al, 2016), putative health benefits (Ahn et al, 2014;Dong-Hwan et al, 2004;Hwang et al, 2019;Park et al, 2019), and processing techniques (Dobermann, Field, & Michaelson, 2019) have been extensively described. Thus, the genome of G. bimaculatus herein described, adds to this body of biological knowledge by providing invaluable information that will be required to maximize the potential of this cricket to become an increasingly significant part of the worldwide diet in the future.…”

“…A rare but known health risk associated with cricket consumption, however, is sensitivity and allergy to crickets 44,45 . Nevertheless, not only is the cricket G. bimaculatus considered generally safe for human consumption, several studies also suggest that introducing crickets into one's diet may confer multiple health benefits [46][47][48] .Crickets might therefore be part of the solution to the problem of feeding a worldwide growing population in a sustainable way. However, most of the crops and livestock that humans eat have been domesticated and subjected to strong artificial selection for hundreds or even thousands of years to improve their characteristics most desirable for humans, including size, growth rate, stress resistance, and organoleptic properties [49][50][51][52] .…”

“…Rats fed a diet including an ethanol extract of G. bimaculatus accumulated less abdominal fat and had lower serum glucose levels than control animals (Ahn, Kim, Kwon, Hwang, & Park, 2015). More recent studies suggest that G. bimaculatus powder has antidiabetic effects in rat models of Type I diabetes (Park, Lee, Lee, Hoang, & Chae, 2019) and protects against acute alcoholic liver damage in mice (Hwang et al, 2019). Beyond rodent models, a study of healthy adult human subjects showed that the intake of 25g/day of the powdered cricket species Grylloides sigillatus supported growth of some probiotic microbiota, and correlated with reduced expression of the pro-imflammatory cytokine TNFa (Stull et al, 2018).…”

Gryllus bimaculatus extract protects against lipopolysaccharide and palmitate-induced production of proinflammatory cytokines and inflammasome formation

“…Previously, GB extract has been shown to inhibit inflammation in several disease models such as that of chronic arthritis ( 14 ) and alcohol-induced steatohepatitis ( 15 ). Furthermore, GB has exhibited glucose lowering effect in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice ( 16 ). Therefore, GB could be used as a functional food source for patients with chronic inflammation or metabolic diseases.…”