Preventative effect of Zingiber officinale on insulin resistance in a high-fat high-carbohydrate diet-fed rat model and its mechanism of action

Yiming Li, Van H. Tran, Bhavani P. Kota, Srinivas Nammi, Colin C. Duke, Basil D. Roufogalis

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    63 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Insulin resistance is a core component of metabolic syndrome and usually precedes the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. We have examined the preventative effect of an ethanol extract of ginger (Zingiber officinale, Zingiberaceae) on insulin resistance in a high-fat high-carbohydrate (HFHC) diet-fed rat model of metabolic syndrome. The HFHC control rats displayed severe insulin resistance, whilst rats treated with ginger extract (200 mg/kg) during HFHC diet feeding showed a significant improvement of insulin sensitivity using the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) after 10 weeks (p < 0.01). An in vitro mechanistic study showed that (S)-[6]-gingerol, the major pungent phenolic principle in ginger, dose-dependently (from 50 to 150 μM) increased AMPK α-subunit phosphorylation in L6 skeletal muscle cells. This was accompanied by a time-dependent marked increment of PGC-1α mRNA expression and mitochondrial content in L6 skeletal muscle cells. These results suggest that the protection from HFHC diet-induced insulin resistance by ginger is likely associated with the increased capacity of energy metabolism by its major active component (S)-[6]-gingerol.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)209-215
    Number of pages7
    JournalBasic and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology
    Volume115
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2014

    Keywords

    • diabetes
    • ginger
    • insulin resistance
    • metabolic syndrome

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