Diabetes Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Diabetes, including details on insulin, type i, type ii, diet, treatment, prevention.

A new tactic to treat postprandial hyperlipidemia in diabetic rats with gastroparesis by improving gastrointestinal transit.

Xie W, Xing D, Zhao Y, Su H, Meng Z, Chen Y, Du L

Institute of Medicinal Plant, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100094, China.

Improvement of gastrointestinal transit was thought to be a new tactic to treat postprandial hypertriglyceridemia in diabetic individuals with gastroparesis. Diabetic gastroparesis, lipid load testing, and the effect of domperidone or aqueous extract of rhizomes of Rheum palmatum L. on postprandial hypertriglyceridemia were evaluated in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Alloxan diabetic animals had a slow gastrointestinal transit, together with delayed and exaggerated postprandial hypertriglyceridemia, after oral administration of olive oil, which was significantly improved after oral administration of domperidone or R. palmatum L. However, atropine could prevent the effects of R. palmatum L. The reduced postprandial hypertriglyceridemia was highly correlated with the improvement in gastrointestinal transit. These results suggest that promotion of gastrointestinal transit may be useful for the treatment of postprandial hypertriglyceridemia in diabetic patients with gastroparesis. R. palmatum L. may become a new choice for these patients since it has more potential benefits than domperidone.

Published 2 March 2005 in Eur J Pharmacol, 510(1): 113-20.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Diabetes Research Today. All Rights Reserved.