These results suggested that citrus pectin could ameliorate type 2 diabetes. - GreenMedInfo Summary
Anti-diabetic effect of citrus pectin in diabetic rats and potential mechanism via PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.
Int J Biol Macromol. 2016 Aug ;89:484-8. Epub 2016 May 6. PMID: 27164497
Yanlong Liu
This study was performed to investigate the anti-diabetic effect of citrus pectin in type 2 diabetic rats and its potential mechanism of action. The results showed that fasting blood glucose levels were significantly decreased after 4 weeks of citrus pectin administration. Citrus pectin improved glucose tolerance, hepatic glycogen content and blood lipid levels (TG, TC, LDL-c and HDL-c) in diabetic rats. Citrus pectin also significantly reduced insulin resistance, which played an important role in the resulting anti-diabetic effect. Moreover, after the pectin treatment, phosphorylated Akt expression was upregulated and GSK3β expression was downregulated, indicating that the potential anti-diabetic mechanism of citrus pectin might occur through regulation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Together, these results suggested that citrus pectin could ameliorate type 2 diabetes and potentially be used as an adjuvant treatment.