Stimulation of glucose uptake by glycosides from Alectra parasitica subsp. chitrakutensis (M.A. Rau) K.K. Khanna & An. Kumar: An in-vitro study of TNF-α induced insulin resistance in L6 myoblasts

Abstract

Alectra parasitica subsp. chitrakutensis (M.A. Rau) K.K. Khanna & An. Kumar (Orobanchaceae) is a parasitic plant indigenous to India. Locally, the plant is known as 'Midaki and Nirgundikand'. It is used to treat fever, piles, cardiovascular disorders, and blood-borne non-infectious diseases by ethnic communities. The phytochemical investigation of A. parasitica subsp. chitrakutensis rhizome led to the isolation of azafrin (1), rehmaionoside-C (2), and mussaenoside (3). Compounds (2) and (3) are being reported for the first time from this plant. Compounds were evaluated for their intercellular glucose uptake activity in basal and insulin-TNF-α-stimulated L6 muscle cells. In particular, rehmaionoside C exhibited activity comparative to metformin, increasing uptake by basal- and insulin-TNF-α-stimulated cells by 4.88- and 3.90-fold and 5.04- and 4.04-fold. While azafrin and mussaenoside have produced 3.03- and 2.36-fold; 4.03- and 3.22-fold increase in intercellular glucose uptake. Compounds did not show toxicities in rat L6 myoblast cells. The study suggests that rehmaionoside-C from A. parasitica subsp. chitrakutensis might activate glucose uptake by insulin mimics and could be a nontoxic anti-diabetes lead for drug discovery.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Alectra parasitica subsp. chitrakutensis (M.A. Rau) K.K. Khanna & An. Kumar
• Orobanchaceae
• Rhizomes
• Iridoids
• Insulin resistance skeletal muscles
• Rehmaionoside-C
• Mussaenoside
• Glucose uptake activity

Acknowledgments

AKV is thankful to Director, BSI, Kolkata and HoD, BSI, CRC, Allahabad for providing necessary facilities and their cooperation during the study. Ranjana acknowledges the University Grant Commission (UGC), New Delhi, India, for funding support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The authors would like to thank the Director, CSIR-CIMAP, Lucknow, for providing all necessary research facilities and financial support for the project (FC2020-23/DU/MLP-10).