Effect of pueraria flavonoid on diabetes in mice complicated by hyperlipidemia

A new model is presented for hyperglycemia in animals complicated by hyperlipidemia (HD) to study the action of pueraria flavonoids (PF). Kunming mice were treated with alloxan (150 mg/kg) intraperitoneally and fed a high-fat diet. Glucose (Glu), total cholesterol (TC) and triglycerides (TG) in the plasma were measured at week 0, 1, 2, 4, and 8. PF (600, 400, 200 mg/kg) was given to the mice for 14 days beginning from week 1. The effects of PF on the lipase activity and the ability to produce cholesterol and glycogen in the cultured hepatic cells were also tested in vitro. In week 1, 2, 4, and 8 following the final alloxan injection, Glu increased by 763%, 504%, 526%, and 641% TC increased by 269%, 409%, 449%, and 428% and TG increased by 415%, 485%, 461%, and 418%. These increases in the model were significant compared with those in normal Kunming mice. PF acted effectively as hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic agents on the mice. The results suggest that the model may be suitable for studies of drugs on diabetes complicated by hyperlipidemia and that PF may be a useful drug for patients with diabetes complicated by hyperlipidemia.