The aim of this study was to investigate the
antidiabetic effects of a
Tibetan medicine, Tang-Kang-Fu-San (TKFS), on experimental
type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rats and to explore its underlying mechanisms. Firstly two major chemical compositions of TKFS,
gallic acid and
curcumin, were characterized by HPLC fingerprint analysis. Next T2DM in rats was induced by high-fat diet and a low-dose
streptozotocin (STZ 35 mg/kg). Then oral gavage administration of three different doses of TKFS (0.3 g/kg, 0.6 g/kg, and 1.2 g/kg) was given to T2DM rats. Experimental results showed that TKFS dramatically reduced the levels of fasting
blood glucose, fasting blood
insulin,
triglyceride, total
cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and
HDL cholesterol, even though it did not alter the animal
body weight. The downregulation of phosphorylation-AKT (p-AKT) and
glucose transporter-4 (GLUT4) in skeletal muscle of T2DM rats was restored and abnormal pathological changes in pancreas tissues were also improved. Our work showed that TKFS could alleviate diabetic syndromes, maintain the
glucose homeostasis, and protect against
insulin resistance in T2DM rats, and the improvement of AKT phosphorylation and GLUT4 translocation in skeletal muscle would be one of its possible underlying mechanisms.