Novel role of Periploca laevigata extracts as anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory function in pancreatic β cells exposed to hyperglycaemia

Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) is a major health problem worldwide. This metabolic disease is associated with high blood glucose levels due to insufficient insulin production by the pancreas, leading to an inflammatory immune response. Considering the beneficial roles of medicinal plants to control the diabetic complications of T2D, as well as the therapeutic roles of the extracts from Periploca laevigata (PL), this study evaluates the anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory properties of PL extracts in the pancreatic β cell line INS-1E under hyperglycaemic. Our findings demonstrated, for the first time, that whereas PL extracts tends to upregulate the insulin gene expression, PL extract from leaves increase significantly the gene expression of GLUT-2 and the transcription factor PDX-1 in glucose-treated INS-1E cells. Notably, some PL extracts are also capable to decrease significantly the gene expression of iNOS and to increase the IL-10 gene expression in glucose-treated INS-1E cells. However, the PL extracts show a tendency to decrease the gene expression of NF-kB and MCP-1 in glucose-treated INS-1E cells. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the treatment with PL extracts could benefit the pancreatic β cell function and alleviate the pancreatic inflammation, thereby representing potential advantages of the glucose metabolism in the T2D.