Abstract:

Objective To investigate the effect of curcumin on expression of adiponectin in mice with insulin resistance. Methods Sixty-four 7-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into normal control group, model control group, 50 mg?kg^-1?d^-1 curcumin group and 250 mg·kg^-1·d^-1 curcumin group, with 16 mice in each group. Mice in normal control group and model control group were daily gavaged with 1.0% carboxymethyl cellulose solution for 11 weeks, and mice in 50 mg·kg^-1·d^-1 curcumin group and 250 mg·kg^-1·d^-1 group were gavaged with 50 mg·kg^-1·d^-1 curcumin and 250 mg·kg^-1·d^-1 curcumin respectively for 11 weeks. On the eleventh week, mice in model control group, 50 mg·kg^-1·d^-1 curcumin group and 250 mg·kg^-1·d^-1 curcumin group were simultaneously intraperitoneally injected with tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）（7 μg·kg^-1·d^-1）for consecutive 8 d. The fasting blood glucose and serum insulin were measured, the insulin action index (IAI) was calculated, the serum adiponectin was determined by ELISA, and the expression of adiponectin mRNA in abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissues and periepididymal adipose tissues was detected by quantitative Real-Time PCR. Results IAI in model control group was significantly lower than that in normal control group (P<0.05), and IAI in 250 mg·kg^-1·d^-1 curcumin group was significantly higher than that in model control group (P<0.05). The mass concentration of serum adiponectin in model control group was significantly lower than that in normal control group (P<0.05), and the mass concentration of serum adiponectin in 250 mg·kg^-1·d^-1 curcumin group was significantly higher than that in model control group (P<0.05). The expression of adiponectin mRNA in abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissues and periepididymal adipose tissues in 50 mg·kg^-1·d^-1 curcumin group and 250 mg·kg^-1·d^-1 curcumin group was significantly higher than that in model control group (P<0.05). Conclusion Curcumin has definite protective effect on mice with insulin resistance, and the mechanism may be the upregulation of expression of adiponectin mRNA.

Key words: insulin resistance, curcumin, adiponectin