Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Effect of sodium butyrate on glucose and lipid metabolism, insulin expression and apoptosis of β-cells in obese pregnant rats

Haiyan Zhang, Lihong An, Youlin Yang, Yi Chen, Xiahui Zhang, Zhenzhen Dai

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The First People's Hospital of Wenling (The Affiliated Wenling Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University), Wenling 317599, PR China;

For correspondence:- Zhenzhen Dai Email: cxajr9@163.com

Accepted: 24 May 2021 Published: 30 June 2021

Citation: Zhang H, An L, Yang Y, Chen Y, Zhang X, Dai Z. Effect of sodium butyrate on glucose and lipid metabolism, insulin expression and apoptosis of β-cells in obese pregnant rats. Trop J Pharm Res 2021; 20(6):1217-1222 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v20i6.18

© 2021 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To study the influence of sodium butyrate on the metabolism of lipid and glucose, insulin expression and apoptosis of β-cells in obese pregnant rats.

Methods: Three groups of one hundred and twenty 4-week-old female C5BL/6J mice were used: control, high-fat diet and sodium butyrate groups. Insulin, triglycerides and total cholesterol were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Insulin levels, as well as area and quality of islet β-cells were assessed using Image Pro Plus software. The number of DAPI-positive islet cells, positive expression of bcl-2 in each islet cell, and apoptosis of islet β-cells in each group were determined.

Results: The expression levels of insulin in high-fat diet group and butyrate group were significantly reduced, relative to control, but insulin expression level in Na butyrate group increased, relative to high-fat diet mice (p < 0.01). The area and quality of islet β-cells in high-fat diet and sodium butyrate groups were markedly higher in sodium butyrate group than in high-fat diet group (p < 0.01). The bcl-2 expression in islet β-cells rose in mice given high-fat diet, relative to control and sodium butyrate groups (p < 0.01).

Conclusion: Sodium butyrate facilitates glucose and lipid metabolism, but increases insulin expression, and effectively inhibits apoptosis of islet β-cells in obese pregnant mice. Thus, sodium butyrate may be useful in the prevention and treatment of metabolic disorders due to diabetes mellitus (DM)

Keywords: Sodium butyrate, Obese pregnant mice, Glucose, Lipid metabolism, Islet beta cells, Insulin expression, Apoptosis, Diabetes mellitus