Investigation on the Hypoglycemic Effect of Aronia melanocarpa Fruit and Its Effect on Lipid Metabolism

Objective: To investigate the hypoglycemic effect of Aronia melanocarpa fruit (AMF) and its effect on lipid metabolism. Methods: Use streptozotocin (STZ) to induce the type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) mouse model. The models were randomly divided into 7 groups: The model group, the metformin hydrochloride group (40 mg/kg·bw), the AMF total flavonoids groups (75, 150, 300 mg/kg·bw) and the AMF juice group (10 mL/kg·bw), and the blank control group. This study detected the effects of each group on the physiological indices, water intake, food intake, organ index and fasting blood glucose values of the T2DM mice, tested the serum levels of triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C), malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), and performed pathological observations on the liver and pancreas tissues of the mice. Results: All the AMF total flavonoids groups and juice group had significant hypoglycemic effects on STZ-induced T2DM mice (P<0.05), their organ index and TG, TC, LDL-C, HDL-C, MDA, SOD levels (P<0.05) were reduced, and pancreatic and liver tissues were repaired. The AMF total flavonoid group could significantly improve the symptoms called "three polys and one loss" (polyuria, polydipsia, and polyphagia and weight loss) in T2DM mice (P<0.05). The AMF total flavonoids group had the best effect at high dose. Conclusion: AMF has the efficacy of hypoglycemia, hypolipidemia and repair of pancreatic and liver damage in STZ-induced T2DM mice, and the mechanism might be related to its regulation of oxidative stress.