Myrciaria cauliflora extracts attenuate diabetic nephropathy involving the Ras signaling pathway in streptozotocin/nicotinamide mice on a high fat diet

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a major cause of end-stage renal disease and its mortality is continuously increasing worldwide. Previous studies indicate that reactive oxygen species play an important role in high glucose-induced renal injury. Myrciaria cauliflora has been reported as a functional food rich in anthocyanins possessing anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties. This study examined whether M. cauliflora extracts (MCE) can attenuate diabetic nephropathy progression in type 2 diabetes mellitus mice. First, the composition of the an-thocyanins and polyphenols of MCE were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography and spectrophotometry. One hundred mg/kg of streptozotocin and 240 mg/kg nicotinamide were administered to C57BL/6J mice fed a high fat diet and varied concentrations of MCE. The plasma glucose concentration, body weight, oral glucose tolerance, blood pressure, renal ultrasound ultrasonic wave were monitored every 2 weeks. Following euthanasia, the kidneys of the mice were analyzed using hematoxylin–eosin, periodic acid Schiff, Masson’s trichrome, and immunohistochemistry staining. The results showed that MCE stabilized the plasma glucose and indirectly improved insulin sensitivity in diabetic mice. In addition, diabetes-caused glomerular atrophy, accumulation of saccharide, and formation of collagen IV were recovered or reduced under treatment with MCE in diabetic mice. Our results indicate that MCE has beneficial effects in DN and the mechanism has been confirmed to inhibit Ras/PI3K/Akt and kidney fibrosis related proteins. This work illustrates the potential of MCE rich in anthocyanins and polyphenols as a natural food to inhibit DN.