Effectiveness of desertliving cistanche in managing hyperlipidemic osteoporosis in ovariectomized rats through the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: To aim of this study is to assess the mechanism through which Desertliving Cistanche modulates the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in the treatment of hyperlipidemic osteoporosis in ovariectomized rats. METHODS: We randomly assigned specific-pathogen-free (SPF) rats into five groups (n = 10 per group). The normal control group received a standard diet, while the model group, atorvastatin group, diethylstilbestrol group, and treatment group were fed a high-fat diet. Four weeks later, bilateral ovariectomies were conducted, followed by drug interventions. After six weeks of treatment, relevant indicators were compared and analyzed. RESULTS: Compared to the normal control group, rats in the model group exhibited blurred trabecular morphology, disorganized osteocytes, significantly elevated levels of bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BALP), bone Gla-protein (BGP), total cholesterol (TC), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL). Also, the model group revealed significantly reduced levels of ultimate load, fracture load, estradiol (E2), bone mineral density (BMD), osteoprotegerin (OPG), and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase B (Akt) in femoral tissue. The atorvastatin group presented with higher TC and TNF-α levels compared to the normal control group. Conversely, the treatment group demonstrated enhanced trabecular morphology, denser structure, smaller bone marrow cavities, and reduced BALP, BGP, TC, TNF-α, and RANKL levels. Furthermore, the treatment group exhibited higher levels of E2, BMD, OPG, and PI3K and Akt in bone tissue compared to the model group. The treatment group also had lower TC and TNF-α levels than the atorvastatin group. Biomechanical analysis indicated that after administration of Desertliving Cistanche, the treatment group had reduced body mass, increased ultimate and fracture load of the femur, denser bone structure, smaller bone marrow cavities, and altered periosteal arrangement compared to the model group. CONCLUSION: Our study revealed that Desertliving Cistanche demonstrated significant efficacy in preventing and treating postmenopausal hyperlipidemic osteoporosis in rats.

LC-MS Metabolite Profiling and the Hypoglycemic Activity of Morus alba L. Extracts.

Morus alba L. is used in traditional Chinese medicine for its anti-diabetic activity; however, the part of the hypoglycemic activity and related active metabolites are still not fully clarified. In this study, the metabolites in the M. alba roots, leaves, twigs, and fruits extracts (70% ethanol extracts) were systematically identified, and their hypoglycemic activity was evaluated by the high-fat diet/streptozotocin-induced 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) mouse model. A total of 60 high-level compounds, including 16 polyphenols, 43 flavonoids, and one quinic acid, were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-Q-TOF-MS) combined with the fragmentation pathways of standards and the self-established database. Among them, 23 metabolites were reported for the first time from this plant. In contrast to the extracts of M. alba leaves and fruits, the extracts of roots and twigs displayed significant hypoglycemic activity The glycemia was significantly reduced from 32.08 ± 1.27 to 20.88 ± 1.82 mmol/L and from 33.32 ± 1.98 to 24.74 ± 1.02 mmol/L, respectively, after 4 weeks of treatment with roots and twigs extracts. Compound 46 (morusin), which is a high-level component identified from the extracts of M. alba roots, also displayed significant activity in decreasing the blood glucose level of T2D mice reduced from 31.45 ± 1.23 to 23.45 ± 2.13 mmol/L. In addition, the extracts of roots and twigs displayed significant activity in reducing postprandial glycemia. This work marks the first comparison of the metabolites and hypoglycemic activity of M. alba roots, leaves, twigs, and fruits extracts, and provides a foundation for further development of M. alba extracts as anti-diabetic drugs.