Anti-diabetic effect of ginsenoside Re in ob/ob mice

AbstractWe evaluated the anti-diabetic effects of ginsenoside Re in adult male C57BL/6J ob/ob mice. Diabetic ob/ob mice with fasting blood glucose levels of approximately 230 mg/dl received daily intraperitoneal injections of 7, 20 and 60 mg/kg ginsenoside Re for 12 consecutive days. Dose-related effects of ginsenoside Re on fasting blood glucose levels were observed. After the 20 mg/kg treatment, fasting blood glucose levels were reduced to 188±9.2 and 180±10.8 mg/dl on Day 5 and Day 12, respectively (both P<0.01 compared to vehicle group, 229±9.5 and 235±13.4 mg/dl, respectively). The EC70 of ginsenoside Re was calculated to be 10.3 mg/kg and was used for subsequent studies. Consistent with the reduction in blood glucose, there were significant decreases in both fed and fasting serum insulin levels in mice treated with ginsenoside Re. With 12 days of ginsenoside treatment, glucose tolerance of ob/ob mice increased significantly, and the area under the curve for glucose decreased by 17.8% (P<0.05 compared to vehicle treatment). The hypoglycemic effect of the ginsenoside persisted even at 3 days of treatment cessation (blood glucose levels: 198±13.1 with ginsenoside treatment vs. 253±20.3 mg/dl with vehicle, P