The Antidiabetic Plantstecomastans (L.) Juss. Ex Kunth (Bignoniaceae) And Teucriumcubense Jacq (Lamiaceae) Induce The Incorporation Of Glucose In Teucriumcubense Jacq (Lamiaceae) Induce The Incorporation Of Glucose In

Journal of Ethnopharmacology 127 (2010) 1–6

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Journal of Ethnopharmacology
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The antidiabetic plants Tecoma stans (L.) Juss. ex Kunth (Bignoniaceae) and Teucrium cubense Jacq (Lamiaceae) induce the incorporation of glucose in insulin-sensitive and insulin-resistant murine and human adipocytes
˜Angel Josabad Alonso-Castro a , Rocio Zapata-Bustos a , José Romo-Yanez a , Paul Camarillo-Ledesma a , Maricela Gómez-Sánchez b , Luis A. Salazar-Olivo a,∗
a b

Instituto Potosino de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica, División de Biología Molecular, San Luis Potosí, SLP, Mexico Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Juriquilla, Querétaro, Mexico

a r t i c l ei n f o

a b s t r a c t
Aim of the study: Tecoma stans (L.) Juss. ex Kunth (Bignoniaceae) and Teucrium cubense Jacq (Lamiaceae) are plants extensively used for the empirical treatment of diabetes mellitus, but their antidiabetic mechanisms remain to be clarified. In this study, the effect of aqueous extracts of Tecoma stans (TSE) and Teucrium cubense (TCE) on the glucose uptake in adiposecells was evaluated. Materials and methods: Non-toxic concentrations of TSE and TCE were assayed on the adipogenesis and 2-NBDglucose uptake in insulin-sensitive and insulin-resistant murine 3T3-F442A and human subcutaneous adipocytes. Results: Both extracts stimulated 2-NBDG uptake by insulin-sensitive and insulin-resistant adipocytes in a concentration-dependent manner. In insulin-sensitive cells,TSE 70 g/ml stimulated 2-NBDG uptake by 193% (murine) and by 115% (human), whereas the same concentration of TCE induced the 2-NBDG uptake by 112% (murine) and 54% (human). In insulin-resistant adipocytes, TSE induced the 2-NBDG uptake by 94% (murine) and 70% (human), compared with the incorporation shown by insulin-sensitive adipocytes stimulated by the hormone, whereas TCE induced theincorporation of 2-NBDG by 69% (murine) and 31% (human). On the other hand, TSE and TCE exerted only minimal or null proadipogenic effects on murine and human preadipocytes. Conclusion: Tecoma stans and Teucrium cubense exert their antidiabetic effects stimulating glucose uptake in both insulin-sensitive and insulin-resistant murine and human adipocytes without significant proadipogenic or antiadipogenic sideeffects. © 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Article history: Received 21 May 2009 Received in revised form 27 August 2009 Accepted 25 September 2009 Available online 8 October 2009 Keywords: Tecoma stans Teucrium cubense 3T3-F442A cells Human preadipocytes Adipogenesis 2-NBDG uptake

1. Introduction
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2-D) represents a serious public health problemsince it accounts for substantial portions of national health expenditures worldwide (Balkrishnan et al., 2003; Arredondo et al., 2005). The undesirable side effects of drugs currently used for the treatment of T2-D (Cheng and Fantus, 2005) and

Abbreviations: 2-NBDG, 2-[N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl amino]-2deoxy-d-glucose; CS, Calf serum; DMEM, Dulbecco’s modified Eagle medium; FBS, Fetalbovine serum; hAM, Human adipogenic medium; hBM, Human basal medium; mAM, Murine adipogenic medium; mBM, Murine basal medium; NAM, Non-adipogenic medium; RGZ, Rosiglitazone; TSE, Tecoma stans aqueous extract; TCE, Teucrium cubense aqueous extract; TNF- , Tumor necrosis factor alpha; T2-D, Type 2 diabetes.

the limited access to public health systems in low-income communities motivate patientsto use alternative therapies. Medicinal plants constitute a common alternative treatment for T2-D in many parts of the world (Pagán and Tanguma, 2007). This is in accordance with estimations that 25% of modern medicines are derived from plants and the global market for herbal medicines currently stands at over US$ 60 billion annually and is growing steadily (WHO, 2009). Tecoma stans (L.) Juss....