Abstract
Background: The hypoglycaemic effects of β-glucan (BG) extracts from some mushrooms and Folium mori (FM) have been reported.
Objective: To determine the most effective composition of combined β-glucan originated from Aureobasidium and Folium mori extract (BGFM) for treating diabetes and complicated hepatopathy and nephropathy using streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats.
Method: Six days after STZ dosing, rats (n = 5 per group) were selected based on body weight and blood glucose levels. BGFM was orally administered once a day for 28 days (Qd × 28), and changes in blood glucose levels, body weight, liver and kidney weight, and levels of serum Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were measured.
Results: The diabetic control group exhibited dramatic decreases in body weight, and increase in liver and kidney weight, and blood glucose, serum BUN, creatinine, AST, and ALT levels compared to the non-diabetic sham group. However, these hyperglycaemic changes were markedly reduced in the Folium mori extract single group (S-FM) and some groups that received a mixed composition. Additionally, the changes related to the complicated hepatopathy and nephropathy of body weight were attenuated in the β-glucan single (S-BG) and some mixed groups compared to the diabetic control group. The anti-diabetic effects of β-glucan composition increased with its dose, and similarly, the hypoglycaemic effects of FM composition increased with its dose. Of the 11 types of mixed composition and single formulations, the BG:FM 1:4 composition was considered most effective for dual efficacy in terms of its hypoglycaemic and anti-diabetic effects.
Conclusion: The greatest synergistic effects of the BGFM complex in treating the hyperglycaemic and complicated hepatopathy and nephropathy of STZ were obtained using a BG:FM 1:4 ratio.
Keywords: Composition, diabetes, diabetic complication, Folium mori, streptozotocin, β-glucan.
Graphical Abstract