Gut microbiota mediated hypoglycemic effect of Astragalus membranaceus polysaccharides in db/db mice

Abstract

Gut microbiota has been reported to be closely associated with Type-II diabetes. Restoration of disordered gut microbiota ecosystem has been developed into a therapeutic strategy and gradually applied on Type-II diabetes treatment with both western drugs and herbal polysaccharides. Although Astragalus membranaceus polysaccharides (AMP) have also been used to treat Type-II diabetes, no study investigated correlations between gut microbiota regulation and its hypoglycemic effect. In the present study, the role of gut microbiota on the hypoglycemic effect of AMP in db/db mice was investigated for the first time. Sixteen days treatment of AMP at the dosage of 600 mg/kg in db/db mice not only alleviated its diabetic symptoms significantly but also restored its gut microbiota community with increased production of fecal short chain fatty acids (SCFA). Our further Pearson correlation analyses revealed that the relative abundance of two intestinal bacteria, Akkermansia and Faecalibaculum, were significantly positively correlated with the hypoglycemic effect of AMP as well as fecal SCFA production. It was also noted that treatment of AMP resulted in increased secretion of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) in serum and enhanced intestinal integrity. Further mechanistic study revealed that the increased SCFA after AMP treatment could stimulate GLP-1 secretion and improve intestinal integrity via enhancing the expression of G protein-coupled receptors 41/43 and tight junction proteins (Occudin and ZO-1), respectively, leading to the alleviation of diabetic symptoms in db/db mice.

Investigating the effects of radiation, T cell depletion, and bone marrow transplantation on murine gut microbiota

“…17 Interestingly, the levels of Akkermansia and Faecalibaculum in the gut microbiota have been found to positively correlate with the hypoglycemic effects of Astragalus membranaceus polysaccharides and the alleviation of food allergy symptoms in mice. 30,31 Our findings support the crucial role of Akkermansia and Faecalibaculum in gut microbiota-mediated host health responses and suggest that radiation exposure may impact these important microbial populations. Comparatively, in humans, after allogeneic BMT, there is a decline in bacterial alpha diversity within the first 3 weeks in the gut, oral, and nasal microbiota.…”

Research state of the herbal medicine Huangqi (Radix Astragali): A global and bibliometric study

“…The gut microbiota plays a key role in a variety of diseases. It is suggested that Huangqi repaired the damaged intestinal barrier by regulating the intestinal microbiota, [42] improving cognitive impairment [43] and hypoglycemia, [44] and lowering uric acid. [45] The role of epithelial-mesenchymal transition was a major factor in the development of the epithelium.…”

Restoration of Intestinal Microbiota After Inulin Supplementation Halted: The Secondary Effect of Supplemented Inulin

“…[37,38] Moreover, high relative abundance of Akkermansia and Faecalibaculum (as observed in Inulin-L and Anti-Inulin-L groups after inulin supplementation stopped), was associated with hypoglycemic effect. [39] Collectively, the dominance of Dubosiella, Akkermansia, and the outgrown Faecalibaculum after restoration, pointed to the longlasting health promoting effect of the supplemented inulin.…”