Hypoglycemic Effect Of Enriched Flavonoid Extract From Stigmaless Floral Residues Of Crocus Sativus L.

Saffron,a traditional medicine,has long been used for its circulation-boosting properties and ability to treat palpitations.Saffron is only the stigmas of Crocus sativus L.,resulting in significant waste because of remaining flower parts such as pedicels,petals,peduncles,and stamens.Our previous works indicated that the enriched flavonoid extract from the stigmaless floral residues of Crocus sativus L.(EFRC)enhance glucose consumption in C2C12 myotubes,indicating its potential to improve glucose metabolism.However,its effect on blood glucose and the underlying molecular mechanisms are still unknown in animal models.Therefore,we investigated the hypoglycemic effect of EFRC in a streptozotocin(STZ)-induced type 1-like diabetic mice model.Our results showed that EFRC at doses of 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg significantly lowered fasting blood glucose and serum glucose levels in the mice.Moreover,our studies revealed that EFRC had the ability to upregulate key proteins expression,such as p-AMPK(Thr172),p-AKT(Ser473),and pAS160(Ser588),in the AKT and AMPK signaling pathways of both muscle and liver.These results indicated that the hypoglycemic effect of EFRC may be associated with the AMPK and AKT signaling pathways.Overall,our studies suggests that EFRC has potential as a therapeutic agent for improving glucose metabolism and treating type 1-like diabetes.We used C2C12 myotubes to further investigate the molecular mechanism underlying the hypoglycemic effect of EFRC.We assessed glucose consumption and uptake test.Our results showed that EFRC at concentrations of 50 μg/m L and 100μg/m L significantly promoted glucose consumption and uptake in myotubes.We also observed an increase in the phosphorylation levels of AMPK,AKT,and AS160,which is consistent with our in vivo findings.Based on these results,we used AMPK siRNA to interfere expression of AMPK in C2C12 myotubes.The results showed that the promoting effect of EFRC on glucose uptake was weakened after transfection with AMPK siRNA,and the phosphorylation levels of AKT and AS160 was also weakened.Our findings indicate that EFRC promoted glucose uptake in C2C12 myotubes by activating the AMPK signaling pathway,which also promoted the phosphorylation levels of AKT and AS160.Taken together,our findings suggest that EFRC induces an upregulation of glucose uptake by activating AMPK.In summary,EFRC had hypoglycemic effect by activating AMPK.This study provided data to demonstrate the hypoglycemic effect of EFRC.It also provided experimental evidence for the further use of stigmaless floral residues of Crocus sativus L.,and highlighted the importance of investigating the medicinal properties of EFRC from both theoretical and practical perspectives.