Whole blueberry protects pancreatic beta-cells in diet-induced obese mouse

Abstract

Background Blueberry is rich in bioactive substances and possesses powerful antioxidant potential, which can protect against oxidant-induced and inflammatory cell damage and cytotoxicity. The aim of this study was to determine how blueberry affects glucose metabolism and pancreatic β-cell proliferation in high fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice. Methods Wild type male mice at age of 4 weeks received two different kinds of diets: high-fat diet (HFD) containing 60% fat or modified HFD supplemented with 4% (wt:wt) freeze-dried whole blueberry powder (HFD + B) for 14 weeks. A separate experiment was performed in mice fed with low-fat diet (LFD) containing 10% fat or modified LFD + B supplemented with 4% (wt:wt) freeze-dried whole blueberry powder. The metabolic parameters including blood glucose and insulin levels, glucose and insulin tolerances were measured. Results Blueberry-supplemented diet significantly increased insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance in HFD + B mice compared to HFD mice. However, no difference was observed in blood glucose and insulin sensitivity between LFD + B and LFD mice. In addition, blueberry increased β-cell survival and prevented HFD-induced β-cell expansion. The most important finding was the observation of presence of small scattered islets in blueberry treated obese mice, which may reflect a potential role of blueberry in regenerating pancreatic β-cells. Conclusions Blueberry-supplemented diet can prevent obesity-induced insulin resistance by improving insulin sensitivity and protecting pancreatic β-cells. Blueberry supplementation has the potential to protect and improve health conditions for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes patients. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12986-019-0363-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

An 8-Week Freeze-Dried Blueberry Supplement Impacts Immune-Related Pathways: A Randomized, Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial

“…In contrast to ndings made in human interventions, numerous animal studies reported bene ts of blueberries alone or mixed with other berries on weight management (42)(43)(44), markers of glucose/insulin resistance or sensitivity (10,(42)(43)(44)(45)(46), lipid pro le (42,47,48), vascular health (49,50), kidney function (51) or in ammatory markers (10,(42)(43)(44)(50)(51)(52)(53). Results from studies assessing other MetS phenotype parameters have been consistent with our ndings overall.…”

LC-Q-TOF-MS Characterization of Polyphenols from White Bayberry Fruit and Its Antidiabetic Effect in KK-Ay Mice

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Silk Fibroin Promotes the Regeneration of Pancreatic β-Cells in the C57BL/KsJ-Leprdb/db Mouse

“…We could not directly compare the efficacy of hydrolyzed SF activity on promoting the regeneration of the pancreatic β-cell with the other natural compounds. When indirectly comparing the activity using the histological analysis, the efficacy of hydrolyzed SF might be expected to be similar or higher than the other natural compounds [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ]. In our RT-PCR results, it was shown that the hydrolyzed SF treatment increased the gene expression of somatostatin in isolated pancreatic islets; these results suggest that hydrolyzed SF might promote not only the regeneration of pancreatic β-cell but also that of other endocrine cells in the pancreatic islets.…”