Biochanin A, a soy isoflavone, diminishes insulin resistance by modulating insulin-signalling pathway in high-fat diet-induced diabetic mice

Abstract

Aim

The objective of this study was to evaluate the probable mechanism of action of Biochanin A (BCA) on high-fat diet-induced insulin resistance mice.

Methods

Twenty-four male C57/BL/6J mice were divided into two and fed either control diet or a high fat-high diet (HFD). After 6 weeks, mice were grouped into: Control, Control + BCA, HFD and HFD + BCA (n = 6). Mice were made diabetic by feeding them an HFD.

Results

Body weight, plasma glucose, insulin, leptin levels and HOMA values were significantly lower in the BCA supplemented HFD group when related to the HFD group. Furthermore, BCA supplementation significantly increased Insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS 1), PI3K, Akt and Glucose transporter type 4 (GLUT-4) protein abundance in skeletal muscle when equated with HFD.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates that BCA can improve insulin sensitivity by activating insulin signalling, suggesting that it may possess antidiabetic activities.

Keywords:

• Biochanin A
• insulin resistance
• high-fat diet
• C57/BL/6J mice
• insulin signalling

Acknowledgement

The financial support to Arjunan Sundaresan as Post-Doctoral Fellow (PDFSS-2015–17-TAM-12124 dated 01.04.2017) from University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi, India, is gratefully acknowledged.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that no conflict of interest

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.