Summary: | Globally, the prevalence of obesity and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is increasing causing 2.5 to 3.5 million mortalities each year. Overnutrition and a sedentary lifestyle are factors contributing to this increased prevalence and associated with insulin resistance. The seeds of the Brucea javanica tree are used by diabetic patients in Malaysia to lower blood glucose. The quassinoid, bruceine E, isolated from the seeds through activity-guided isolation exhibited blood glucose lowering in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats but has never been evaluated on insulin resistance. This study aims to identify the insulin resistance effect of bruceine E in high-fat diet (HFD) rats since HFD rats mimic the clinical manifestation of insulin resistance. Male Wistar rats were fed with a standard diet (n=6) and HFD (n=30) for 12 weeks followed by four weeks of treatment with positive control, glibenclamide, and bruceine E (400, 800, and 1600 µg/kg). At the end of treatment, rats were fasted and blood withdrawn for analysis of blood glucose, insulin, and leptin before sacrificing the rats. Blood glucose was measured with a glucose meter. Insulin and leptin were analyzed with Elisa kits. Organs were harvested and weighed. In HFD rats, liver and fat weights were higher than normal rats. Rats administered with bruceine E exhibited a decrease in adipose and liver weight, adipose tissue diameter, FBG, insulin, and leptin content. In conclusion, insulin resistance was alleviated as indicated by a reduction in homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistant (HOMA-IR) values and a reduction in the weight and diameter of adipose tissue. Further studies are needed to establish its mechanism of action. © 2024, Indian journals. All rights reserved.
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