Abstract:Mouse models of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) were constructed using a high-sugar and high-fat diet combined with an intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ). After successful modeling, T2DM mice were treated with drugs for four consecutive weeks. The body weight, organ index, blood glucose level, blood lipid level, hepatic oxidative stress response, and pathology test results of the liver were used as reference indicators to investigate the hypoglycemic effects of ginseng α-amylase inhibitory peptides on T2DM mice. The results showed that the acarbose positive group and the ginseng α-amylase inhibitory peptide groups (regardless of the dose) exhibited improvement and regulatory effects of different degrees in the body weight loss and hyperglycemia in mice. Furthermore, the effects were more obvious as the dose increased. Therefore, it was concluded that ginseng α-amylase inhibitory peptides have hypoglycemic effects on T2DM mice at all doses tested. After four weeks of treatment, the blood glucose level in the high-dose group decreased from 15.43 mmol/L right after modeling to 12.10 mmol/L. Similarly, the level in the acarbose-positive group declined from 15.71 mmol/L after modeling to 10.17 mmol/L. In addition, liver injury in both groups was less severe, indicating that a high dose of ginseng α-amylase inhibitory peptides could provide significant protection against T2DM-induced liver injury (P<0.01). Hence, ginseng α-amylase inhibitory peptides were confirmed to have hypoglycemic effects proving their potential as dietary supplements or supplementary products for the treatment of T2DM.
