RESUMEN
Objective: To study the antidiabetic and anti-oxidative effects of honokiol (Hon) in Magnolia officinalis and its underlying molecular mechanism in diabetic rats induced by high-fat diet (HFD) and streptozotocin (STZ). Methods: After ig administration with Hon [25, 50, and 100 mg/(kg·d)] to diabetic rats for consecutive 10 weeks, the levels of blood glucose (BG), oral glucose tolerance (OGT), blood lipids including total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), hepatic oxidative stress including the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), methane dicarboxylic aldehyde (MDA), and cytochrome P4502E1 (CYP2E1) in diabetic rats were measured. Results: Compared to the diabetic control rats, ig administration of Hon resulted in significant decrease in BG, TC, TG, and LDL-C levels in serum, as well as hepatic CYP2E1 activity and MDA content in diabetic rats, whereas the level of OGT and activities of hepatic CAT, SOD, and GSH-Px in diabetic rats were significantly increased. Conclusion: Hon could alleviate hyperglycemia, hyperlipemia, hepatic oxidative damage, and insulin resistance in diabetic rats by inhibiting hepatic CYP2E1 activity. © 2014 Tianjin Press of Chinese Herbal Medicines.