Abstract
Background: Functional foods play an important role in the prevention and amelioration of metabolic syndromes leading to type 2 diabetes. Plant resources that have anti-metabolic syndromes activity, such as Morus alba L. and Cha (Camellia sinensis L.), have been used in functional foods against diabetes. Since Morus and Cha have different mechanisms of action against metabolic syndromes, such as prevention of sugar uptake and lipidosis, respectively, the combination of both resources will be a reliable approach for developing more efficient functional food against type 2 diabetes because certain synergism is expected in their functions.
Methods: Male Wister Rats were fed the high fat-high sucrose (HFHS) diet for 12 weeks, with and without supplementation of Morus and Cha alone and their combination, and the effect of their supplementation on the markers of the metabolic syndrome such as obesity, lipidosis, and fatty liver formation, were examined.
Results: Several metabolic syndrome markers, including body weight gain, lipid deposit, and fatty liver formation, were more significantly prevented by the diet supplemented with Morus and Cha combination compared to Morus or Cha given separately.
Conclusion: Appropriate formulation of food resources with different functional mechanisms is a promising strategy for developing effective dietary treatment of type 2 diabetes that is a typical Mibyou.
