Objective  To investigate the ameliorative effect of Banxia Xiexin decoction (BXXXD) on the imbalance of glucose/lipid metabolism homeostasis in pre-diabetic rats as well as the modulation of pancreatic sweet taste receptor signaling pathway.

Methods  SD rats were fed a high-fat and high-sugar diet to establish a pre-diabetic model and randomly divided into BXXXD group (n=6) and the model group (n=6). An additional six SD rats were designated as the normal control group. Rats in the BXXXD group were administered BXXXD aqueous extract at 8 g·(kg·d)^-1 by gavage for 4 weeks, while the model and normal control groups received an equivalent volume of distilled water for the same duration. Oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) were performed to evaluate glucose-handling capacity, with the time-glacose area under the curve (AUC) calculated. Serum insulin levels were measured via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was used to determine the insulin resistance index. Blood lipid levels were analyzed using an automated biochemical analyzer. Protein expression levels of key molecules in the sweet taste receptor signaling pathway were detected by Western blotting.

Results  Compared with the normal control group, the model group exhibited significantly increased islet volume, elevated blood glucose levels at all time points during the OGTT, higher time-glucose AUC, elevated fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, 60-min post-OGTT insulin, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels (P<0.05). In contrast, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), 30-min post-OGTT insulin levels, and protein expression of TAS1R3, PLCβ2, and TRPM5 were significantly reduced (P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the BXXXD group showed significantly reduced islet volume, lower fasting blood glucose, 30- and 60-min post-OGTT blood glucose, time-glucose AUC, fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, 60-min post-OGTT insulin, TC, TG, and LDL-C levels (P<0.05). Conversely, HDL-C, 30-min post-OGTT insulin levels, and protein expression of TAS1R3, PLCβ2, and TRPM5 were significantly elevated (P<0.05).

Conclusion  BXXXD may improve the homeostatic imbalance of glucose/lipid metabolism in prediabetes by modulating the pancreatic sweet taste receptor signaling pathway, which may provide a scientific basis to prevent and treat prediabetes by BXXXD.

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