Hypoglycemic effect of Nitraria tangutorum fruit by inhibiting glycosidase and regulating IRS1/PI3K/AKT signalling pathway and its active ingredient identification by UPLC-MS

The hypoglycemic effect of NTB-40 (40% ethanol fraction of Nitraria tangutorum fruit) in type I/II diabetic mice and its underlying mechanism and active ingredient structure were investigated. The postprandial blood glucose (PBG) lowering effect of NTB-40 treatment was confirmed by maltose, starch, and sucrose tolerance tests in alloxan-induced DM mice and sucrase and maltase inhibitory activities in vitro. More importantly, long-term dosing experiments in high-fat diet-STZ-induced diabetic mice further demonstrated that NTB-40 intervention could improve glycolipid metabolism disorder and insulin resistance (IR) by maintaining glucose homeostasis (FBG, OGTT, ITT, FINS, and HOMA-IR) and lipid homeostasis (TC, TG, HDL-C, LDL-C, and FFA), reducing inflammation (IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α) and oxidative stress (SOD and MDA), ameliorating the liver's histological structural abnormalities, and modulating the IRS1/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and downstream targets (FOXO1, GSK3β, GLUT4) for decreasing hepatic gluconeogenesis and promoting glycogen synthesis and glucose uptake. All these results indicated that NTB-40 had an anti-diabetic effect by modulating the IRS1/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and inhibiting α-glucosidase activity. Finally, the main chemical components of NTB-40, including phenolic acids, flavonoids, and alkaloids, were assigned by UPLC-Triple-TOF MS/MS.