Quinoa ameliorates renal endoplasmic reticulum stress in Glucocorticoid- induced insulin resistant rats

The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) on endoplasmic reticulum stress responses in the kidneys of rats with dexamethasone- induced insulin resistance. In this study, 42 male rats were selected as the subjects for the investigation. These rats were randomly allocated to six groups: a healthy control group, a control group fed with quinoa, an IR group, and three treatment groups that received metformin, quinoa, or quinoa prior to the induction of insulin resistance. Subsequently, the values of fasting glucose, serum insulin, and Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance were recorded. An additional six endoplasmic reticulum stress-related genes (Xbp1, Perk, Ire1, Chop, Atf6, and Atf4) were then quantified. The investigation revealed the presence of rats exhibiting extreme metabolic dysfunction under dexamethasone, and a significant elevation in Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance was observed in the insulin resistance group (7.11 ± 1.12) compared to the control group (2.88 ± 0.13). This metabolic stress was, in turn, correlated with the renal endoplasmic reticulum stress pathway, with all six genes significantly upregulated (Chop: 4.12-fold, and Perk: 5.916- fold). The addition of quinoa resulted in a significant reduction in metabolic molecular dysfunctions. In the insulin resistance + Quinoa group, the Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance was found to be significantly lower (6.33 ± 1.04, P < 0.05), and the pro-apoptotic Chop gene expression in this group of rats was found to be significantly decreased by 59 % (from 4.12-fold to 1.79-fold). The effect of quinoa on Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance and endoplasmic reticulum stress gene expression is comparable to that of metformin. This suggests that the consumption of quinoa may help to counteract the molecular alterations and metabolic disturbances associated with the endoplasmic reticulum stress caused by glucocorticoid-induced insulin resistance. Consequently, quinoa could be a useful dietary addition in cases of insulin resistance-related renal complications.