Liquorice flavonoid oil suppresses hyperglycaemia. - GreenMedInfo Summary
Liquorice flavonoid oil suppresses hyperglycaemia accompanied by skeletal muscle myocellular GLUT4 recruitment to the plasma membrane in KK-Amice.
Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2019 May ;70(3):294-302. Epub 2018 Oct 10. PMID: 30304967
Yoko Yamashita
For over 4000 years, liquorice has been one of the most frequently employed botanicals as a traditional herbal medicine. Although previous reports have found that liquorice flavonoids possess various health beneficial effects, the underlying mechanism responsible for the anti-diabetic effect of liquorice flavonoids remains unclear. The present study demonstrates that liquorice flavonoid oil (LFO) improves type 2 diabetes mellitus through GLUT4 translocation to the plasma membrane by activating both the adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway and Akt pathway in muscle of KK-Amice. Furthermore, LFO lowered postprandial hyperglycaemia in a human study. These results indicate that LFO may exert a therapeutic effect on metabolic disorders, such as diabetes and hyperglycaemia, by modulating glucose metabolism through AMPK- and insulin-dependent pathways in skeletal muscle.