Trigonelline and vildagliptin antidiabetic effect: improvement of insulin signalling pathway

OBJECTIVES: Trigonelline (TRG) is known to have an antidiabetic efficacy; however, its mechanism is not entirely elucidated. METHODS: Hence, its effect on insulin signaling, besides its effectiveness in combination with vildagliptin (VLD) in a Type 2 diabetes model has been tested. KEY FINDINGS: TRG (50 mg/kg; p.o) lowered serum glucose, fructosamine, insulin, and HOMA-IR index and increased insulin sensitivity in soleus muscle via augmenting insulin receptor autophosphorylation (IR-PH), pT308-Akt, and glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4). Additionally, it reduced muscle advanced glycation end products and lipid peroxides with increased glutathione. TRG showed an anti-lipidemic effect lowering serum and/or muscle total cholesterol, triglycerides, and FFAs to decrease body weight, and visceral/epididymal indices. Furthermore, VLD (3 and 10 mg/kg, p.o) increased IR-PH, pT308-Akt, and GLUT4 to improve insulin signaling. The combined effect of TRG with the low dose of VLD was mostly confined to the reduction of the aberrant lipid profile. CONCLUSIONS: The beneficial effect of TRG on insulin sensitivity and glucose/ lipid homeostasis is mediated by the enhancement of the insulin signaling and antioxidant property. Moreover, the positive impact of VLD on pT308-Akt is an integral part in insulin signaling, and hence its antidiabetic effect.