بشرى لمرضى السكر والمؤهلين للسكر‍ هانت

Given worldwide increases in the incidence of obesity and type 2 diabetes, new strategies for preventing and treating m e t abolic diseases are needed. The nuclear receptor PPARγ (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma) plays a central role in lipid and glucose m e t abolism; however, current PPARγ-targeting drugs are characterized by undesirable side effects. Natural products from edible biomaterial provide a structurally diverse resource to alleviate complex disorders via tailored nutritional intervention. We identified a family of natural products, the amorfrutins, from edible parts of two legumes, Glycyrrhiza foetida and Amorpha fruticosa, as structurally new and powerful antidiabetics with unprecedented effects for a dietary molecule. Amorfrutins bind to and activate PPARγ, which results in selective gene expression and physiological profiles markedly different from activation by current synthetic PPARγ drugs. In diet-induced obese and db/db mice, amorfrutin treatment strongly improves insulin resistance and other m e t abolic and inflammatory parameters without concomitant increase of fat storage or other unwanted side effects such as hepatoxicity. These results show that selective PPARγ-activation by diet-derived ligands may constitute a promising approach to combat m e t abolic disease.