Journal of Ethnopharmacology 125 (2009) 410416

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Journal of Ethnopharmacology
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jethpharm

Antidiabetic effects of Artemisia sphaerocephala Krasch. gum, a novel food

additive in China, on streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetic rats
Xiao-Hui Xing, Zheng-Mao Zhang, Xin-Zhong Hu , Rui-Qin Wu, Chao Xu
Northwest A & F University, College of Food Science and Engineering, No. 28 Xinong Road, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 7 April 2009
Received in revised form 19 June 2009
Accepted 19 July 2009
Available online 25 July 2009
Keywords:
Type 2 diabetes
Artemisia sphaerocephala Krasch.
Antidiabetic plants
Asteraceae
Insulin resistance

a b s t r a c t
Aim of the study: Since ancient times, practicians of traditional Chinese medicine have discovered that
Artemisia sphaerocephala Krasch. (Asteraceae) seed powder was useful for the treatment of diabetes.
Artemisia sphaerocephala Krasch. gum (ASK gum), which is extracted from seed powder of the plant, is a
novel food additive favored by the food industry in China. The objective of this study was to determine
the antidiabetic function of ASK gum on type 2 diabetes.
Materials and methods: Type 2 diabetic rat model was induced with high fat diet and low dose of streptozotocin (STZ). The effects of ASK gum on hyperglycemia, hyperlipemia, insulin resistance, and liver fat
accumulation in type 2 diabetic rats were evaluated. The results were compared to those of normal rats
and diabetic rats treated with metformin.
Results: The addition of ASK gum to the rats food supply signicantly lowered fasting blood glucose, glycated serum protein, serum cholesterol, and serum triglyceride in type 2 diabetic rats, and
signicantly elevated liver glucokinase, liver glycogen, and serum high density protein cholesterol in
the diabetic rats. ASK gum signicantly reduced insulin resistance and liver fat accumulation of type
2 diabetes.
Conclusion: : Artemisia sphaerocephala Krasch. gum can alleviate hyperglycemia, hyperlipemia and insulin
resistance of type 2 diabetes.
2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Diabetes mellitus affects people of all ages and ethnic groups.
It was estimated that 2.8% of the worlds population was diabetic
in 2000 and this gure would climb to be as high as 4.4% of the
worlds population by 2030 (Wild et al., 2004). Type 2 diabetes,
which accounts for more than 9095% of all diabetes, is characterized by metabolic defects, say, insulin resistance (Lillioja et al., 1988;
ORahilly et al., 1988). Sulfonylureas, biguanide, thiazolidinedione,
and -glycosidase inhibitors are widely used to control the hyperglycemia, hyperlipemia and insulin resistance of type 2 diabetes,
but these drugs fail to signicantly alter the course of diabetic complications and have limited use because of undesirable side effects
and high rates of secondary failure (Rang and Dale, 1991). Thus, it is
essential to look for more effective antidiabetic agents with fewer
side effects.
Artemisia sphaerocephala Krasch. (ASK) (Asteraceae) is a lowgrowing shrub. It is widely distributed in the desert regions of
northwest Chinas Xinjiang, Ningxia, Gansu and Shannxi Provinces.

Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 029 87092159; fax: +86 029 87092159.
E-mail address: hxinzhong@yahoo.com (X.-Z. Hu).
0378-8741/$ see front matter 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jep.2009.07.021

The Chinese Academy of Science estimated that annual seed output of ASK seeds is at least 500,000 tons in China (Bai et al., 2000).
Since ancient times, the people in northwest China have added
ASK seed powder to noodles and other traditional Chinese foods
to improve sensory qualities such as elasticity and chewing quality. Practicians of traditional Chinese medicine also discovered that
ASK seed powder was useful for the treatment of diabetes and other
diseases (e.g. parotitis, tonsillitis, scabies and ileuses) (Zhao and
Huang, 1981). However, the active compounds that are responsible
for these therapeutic effects are poorly known.
Wei and Tu (1980) were the rst to report on the extraction
of ASK gum from ASK seed powder. ASK gum has many desirable
physical properties as a food ingredient for improving structure and
quality of various foods (Wei et al., 1996; Gao et al., 2006; Geng
and Wang, 2006; Hu et al., 2006; Liu and Gu, 2006). Commercial
ASK gum is available in China as a food additive (Hu et al., 2006).
Recently, Zhang et al. (2006) reported that ASK gum had hypoglycemic effect on alloxan-induced type 1 diabetic rats. Though type
2 diabetes is much more common than type 1 diabetes (Lillioja et
al., 1988; ORahilly et al., 1988), little is known about the role of ASK
gum on type 2 diabetes. The objective of this study was to evaluate
the effects of ASK gum on hyperglycemia, hyperlipemia and insulin
resistance of type 2 diabetes.

X.-H. Xing et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 125 (2009) 410416

Table 1
The group and feed of experimental animals.
Treatments

Type of animals

Formula of feed

Normal control
Diabetic control
Metformin control
0.3% ASK gum
0.9% ASK gum
2.7% ASK gum

Normal rats
Diabetic rats
Diabetic rats
Diabetic rats
Diabetic rats
Diabetic rats

8
8
8
8
8
8

Normal laboratory food

High fat diet
High fat diet + metformin (70 mg/kg d)
High fat diet + 0.3% ASK gum
High fat diet + 0.9% ASK gum
High fat diet + 2.7% ASK gum

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Plant material
ASK seeds were harvested in 2007 by researchers in the sandy
area of Yanan, Shanxi Province. After removing impurities, the
seeds were dried in a warm air dryer at 38 C for 24 h. After drying, the seeds were ground into powders with particle diameter
<0.8 mm using a Perten 3303 Model Mill (Perten Instrument Company, Sweden).
2.2. Method of ASK gum extraction
The ASK powder was extracted with water (1:20, w/w) at 25 C
for 2 h under constant stirring, and the suspension was then centrifuged to remove impurity. The extracted gum in the supernatant
was precipitated by adding excess ethanol (1:3, v/v) followed by

411

centrifugation at 400 g for 5 min. The pellet was washed with

70% alcohol, left in 100% isopropyl alcohol at 4 C for 12 h, and then
frozen-vacuum dried.
2.3. Induction of experimental diabetes in rats
This study was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee
of Northwest A&F University. Female SpragueDawleys (SD) rats
weighing 170200 g were obtained from the Experimental Animal
Center at the 4th Army Medicine University, Xian, Shanxi Province.
Rats were allowed to acclimatize for 7 days in an environmentally controlled room at 22 C with an alternating 12 h light/dark
cycle and free access to normal laboratory food and water. After
1 week acclimation, rats in the challenge group were given high
fat diet consisting of 10% lard, 20% sucrose, 2.5% cholesterol, 1.0%
cholate and 66.5% normal food. Rats in the control group containing 8 rats were continually fed only normal laboratory food. All
rats could eat and drink ad libitum. After 6 weeks of the high fat
diet, rats were fasted for 12 h (free access to water) and each rat
was injected intraperitoneally with 30 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ;
Sigma, St. Louis, MO, USA) in 0.1 M acetate buffer, pH 4.5. Rats
in the control group were injected with only the buffer solution.
Three weeks after the injection, rats were fasted for 12 h (free access
to water) and treated with d-glucose (2 g/kg, p.o.). The blood glucose levels at 0 min and 120 min after the glucose treatment were
determined. Rats with blood glucose level 7.8 mmol/L at 0 min or
11.1 mmol/L at 120 min were considered to be diabetic.

Fig. 1. Effect of ASK gum on: (A) FBG, (B) GSP, (C) liver glycogen and (D) liver glucokinase activity. Values are presented as mean SEM, with 8 animals for each group. There
are letters in the top of the bars. Comparison between two groups: two bars without a common letter are signicantly different, P < 0.05.

412

X.-H. Xing et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 125 (2009) 410416

Fig. 2. Effect of ASK gum on lipid prole: (A) TG, (B) TC, and (C) HDL-C. Values are presented as mean SEM, with 8 animals for each group. There are letters in the top of the
bars. Comparison between two groups: two bars without a common letter are signicantly different, P < 0.05.

2.4. Experimental groups and treatments

From the above high fat diet treated rats, 40 rats that have developed type 2 diabetes were chosen with the closest body weight.
The animals were randomly divided into ve treatment groups as
described in Table 1 and each group contained eight animals. The
rats in the previous control group were continually given normal
laboratory food and served as the normal control; while diabetic
rats received the high fat diet containing different amounts of ASK
gum in replacement of the normal laboratory food portion (66.5%),
and the same amount of lard (10%), sucrose (20%), cholesterol (2.5%)
and cholate (1.0%). Metformin is used as a positive control. Each
treatment lasted for 8 weeks during which period rats had free
access to food and water.

2.5. Sample collection

After 8 weeks, the animals were given an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) three days before execution. Rats were fasted for
12 h, anaesthetized between 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. using ketamine
(24 mg/kg body weight, intramuscular injection). Blood from the
celiac artery was collected into dry test tube using syringes and
allowed to coagulate at ambient temperature for 30 min. The serum
was collected for further analysis after centrifugation at 200 g
for 10 min. Livers were immediately dissected out and washed in
ice-cold saline solution to remove the blood. A portion of each
liver sample was put into 10% formalin solution for histopathological study. Another portion of each sample was stored at 80 C
for liver glycogen analyses. The remaining tissues were sliced into
pieces and homogenized in cold buffer solution (pH 7.0) to give 10%
homogenate (w/v). The homogenates were centrifuged at 50 g

for 10 min at 0 C. The supernatants were separated for hepatic

biochemical estimations.
2.6. Method of oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT)
After fasting for 12 h (free access to water), rats were treated
with d-glucose (2 g/kg, p.o.). Blood samples were taken from the
same main tail vein at 0, 30, 90, and 120 min after glucose treatment. Blood glucose levels were tested using Lifescan One Touch
test paper on a Surestep glucose kit (Johnson & Johnson Company,
USA).
2.7. Method of bioassay in blood and liver
Serum total cholesterol (TC), serum triglyceride (TG), serum high
density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), glycated serum protein
(GSP), serum free fatty acid (FFA), liver glucokinase activity, and
liver glycogen were tested on a UV9100 spectrophotometer (Beijing
Ruili Analytical Instrument Corp., Beijing, China) using commercial
kits purchased from the Nanjing Jiancheng Bioengineering Institute
(Nanjing, China).
2.8. Method for insulin sensitivity index (ISI)
The ISI was tested according to Li et al.s method (1993). Fasting
blood insulin (FBI) was tested with a commercial kit from the Tianjin Jiuding Bioengineering Institute (Tianjin, China) on a SN-6100
-radiation-immunity counter (Shanghai Hesuo Rihuan Photoelectric Instrument Co., Ltd., China). Fasting blood glucose (FBG) was
tested with Lifescan One Touch test paper on a Surestep glucose kit
(Johnson & Johnson Company, USA). The Insulin Sensitivity Index

X.-H. Xing et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 125 (2009) 410416

413

2.10. Statistical analysis

Differences among treatment group means were assessed by
one-way ANOVA (SAS Institute, Cary, NC) and group means were
considered to be signicantly different at P < 0.05 as determined
by Duncans new multiple range test (Cheng and Lai, 2000). Values
were as average mean and standard error of the mean (SEM). Bar
and line charts were drawn using Excel 2003 software.
3. Results
3.1. Effect of ASK gum on FBG, SGP, liver glycogen and liver
glucokinase activity
Compared to normal rats, rats in diabetic control group had signicantly (P < 0.05) higher FBG and GSP levels (Fig. 1A and B), and
had signicantly (P < 0.05) lower liver glycogen level and liver glucokinase activity (Fig. 1C and D). As the gum content in high fat
diet increased, FBG and GSP levels decreased gradually, and liver
glycogen level and liver glucokinase activity increased gradually.
Compared to diabetic control, rats in the 2.7% ASK gum group had
signicantly (P < 0.05) lower FBG and GSP levels, and had signicantly (P < 0.05) higher liver glucokinase activity and liver glycogen
level. Though the FBG level in the 2.7% ASK gum group was signicantly (P < 0.05) higher than in the metformin group, there were no
signicant differences (P > 0.05) between the 2.7% ASK gum group
and metformin control group in GSP, liver glucokinase activity and
liver glycogen.
Fig. 3. (A) OGTT curves of diabetic rats. (B) Serum FFA levels. Values are presented
as mean SEM, with 8 animals for each group. There are letters in the top of the
bars. Comparison between two groups: two bars without a common letter are signicantly different, P < 0.05.

(ISI) was calculated according to the following formula (Li et al.,

1993):
ISI = ln

1
FBG (mmol/L) FBI (mIU/L)

3.2. Effect of ASK gum on lipid prole

Rats in the diabetic control group had worse lipid proles compared to normal control (Fig. 2). The degraded lipid proles in
diabetic groups were alleviated by ASK gum treatments. There were
signicant (P < 0.05) differences between the 2.7% ASK gum group
and diabetic control group in TC, TG and HDL-C. The lipid proles
in the 2.7% ASK gum group were similar to those in the metformin
control group (P > 0.05 for TC, TG, and HDL-C, respectively).
3.3. Effect of ASK gum on glucose tolerance, ISI and serum FFA

2.9. Histopathological study

Liver samples were xed in 10% formal-saline for 48 h, and then
dehydrated by successively passing through a gradient of mixtures
of ethyl alcohol and water. The samples were rinsed by xylene and
embedded in parafn. Liver sections (5 m thick) were prepared
and stained with hematoxylin and eosin dye, and then mounted
in neutral deparafnated xylene (DPX) medium for microscopic
examination on a Motic BA 400 microscope with Motic Advance
3.0 software.

Table 2
Effect of ASK gum on ISI and FBI of type 2 diabetic rats.
Treatments

FBI (mIU/L)

Normal control
Diabetic control
Metformin control
0.3% ASK gum
0.9% ASK gum
2.7% ASK gum

8
8
8
8
8
8

38.02
48.43
46.50
46.58
45.56
45.23

1.56b
1.36a
1.2a
1.17a
1.41a
1.36a

ISI
5.18
7.02
6.60
6.90
6.83
6.76

0.11a
0.06d
0.09b
0.07cd
0.07bcd
0.08bc

Values are presented as mean SEM. Comparison between two groups: there is
superscript for each value. Two values without a common letter in their superscripts
are signicantly different, P < 0.05.

OGTT test showed that blood glucose levels in the diabetic control group were higher compared to the other diabetic groups
at 30 min, 60 min, 90 min and 120 min (Fig. 3A). The OGTT curve
declined gradually as the amount of ASK gum increased. The OGTT
curve of the 2.7% ASK gum group was signicantly (P < 0.05) lower
than the curve of the diabetic control group, but was signicantly
(P < 0.05) higher than the curve of the metformin control group. The
slope of the OGTT curve in the 2.7% ASK gum treatment was similar
to the slope of the metformin control group.
Diabetic control group had signicantly (P < 0.05) higher serum
free fatty acid (FFA) level and signicantly lower ISI level than the
normal control group (Fig. 3B and Table 2). Compared to diabetic
control group, 2.7% ASK gum group had signicantly (P < 0.05) lower
serum free fatty acid (FFA) level and signicantly (P < 0.05) higher ISI
level. There were no signicant differences (P > 0.05) in serum FFA
and ISI between the 2.7% ASK gum and metformin control group.
The FBI level in any of the ve diabetic groups was signicantly
(P < 0.05) higher than in normal control group, but there were no
signicant differences in FBI level among the ve diabetic groups
(P > 0.05) (Table 2).
3.4. Effect of ASK gum on liver fat accumulation
The diabetic control group had severe fat degeneration with a
large area of hepatocytes taken over by large white droplets of fat

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X.-H. Xing et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 125 (2009) 410416

Fig. 4. Effect of ASK gum on liver fat accumulation in different groups of rats: (A) Diabetic control, (B) 0.3% ASK gum, (C) 0.9% ASK gum, (D) 2.7% ASK gum, (E) Metformin
control and (F) Normal control. The samples were obtained from the same liver anatomical regions. For each group, 8 rats were examined and 80 pictures were taken. The
above picture for each group was chosen randomly from the 80 pictures in this group. Original magnication, 400.

(Fig. 4A). As the amount of ASK gum increased, the histological conditions improved (Fig. 4BD). There were some large fat droplets in
the 0.3% ASK gum group, but the granularity and quantity of fat
droplets were much less compared to the diabetic control group.
There were only a few small and medium sized fat droplets in the
2.7% ASK gum treatment, and the appearance was very similar to
that of the metformin control group (Fig. 4E).
4. Discussion and conclusions
4.1. Some considerations regarding the gum constitution, the
animal model, and the method of gum supplementation
Zhang et al. (2006) reported that ASK gum consisted of polysaccharide which was composed of six monosaccharides: l-Ara,
d-Xyl, d-Lyx, d-Man, d-Glc and d-Gal, and their molar ration was
1:4.98:1.69:27.86:3.76:13.92. The data in our laboratory about the
composition of the polysaccharide of ASK gum was quiet close to
Zhangs report (Xing et al., 2009). In this study, the yield (w/w) of
ASK gum in terms of ASK seed powder is 17.8%.
Many studies have shown that high fat diet can induce insulin
resistance in SD rats (Kraegen et al., 1986, 1991; Storlien et al.,
1986). Reed et al. (2000) reported that SD rats fed with high fat
diet and injected with a low-dose of STZ could serve as an alternative animal model for simulating type 2 diabetes in humans. These
authors suggested that the model could be used to test antidiabetic agents for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Their study was

conrmed by later reports (Zhang et al., 2003; Srinivasan et al.,

2005; Mikio et al., 2006). Using a similar protocol, we successfully
induced high blood glucose levels in SD rats. Rats in the diabetic
control groups showed metabolic changes such as hyperglycemia,
hyperlipemia, hyperinsulinemia, impaired glucose tolerance, and
decreased insulin sensitivity, which all pointed to the fact that we
established a satisfactory model of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Zhang
et al. (2006) tested the effect of ASK gum on alloxan-induced diabetic rats, and found that the ASK gum at a dose of 200 mg/kg
body weight produced a signicant decrease in blood glucose and
cholesterol levels in diabetic rats (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively).
However, the alloxan-induced diabetic rats in Zhang et al.s report
showed insulin deciency rather than hyperinsulinemia, and thus
were not type 2 diabetic. The FBI level in the diabetic control in
the current study was much higher than in Zhang et al.s study
(48.43 mIU/L vs. 12.54 mIU/L). So, we are condential to say that
our study is the rst ever report on the role of ASK gum on type 2
diabetes.
In the current study, ASK gum was administered to the rats
through their food source rather than by injection or oral gavage.
The reason for this is that this method allowed us to mimic ASK
gum supplementation in human food. ASK gum is consumed as
food additive by people. The amounts of ASK gum added to the
rats food, 0.3%, 0.9% and 2.7% in this study, were similar to the
amounts of ASK gum which are commonly added to human food.
What should be mentioned is that the daily ingestion of ASK gum
for a given rat in the ASK gum groups was not constant during the

X.-H. Xing et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 125 (2009) 410416

examination in this study. We tested the rats food consumptions

every day, and found that as rats grew, their daily food consumption increased gradually, which resulted in a gradually increasing
daily ASK gum ingestion. However, we did not observe signicant
differences in daily food consumption among ve diabetic groups
(data not shown). This result is because the amount of ASK in the
animal diet was very low, and, most importantly, because all of the
high fat diet treatments had the same percentage of fat, sucrose,
cholesterol and cholate.
4.2. Effect of ASK gum on hyperglycemia of type 2 diabetic rats
The current study showed a small but signicant decrease in
FBG levels of diabetic rats as the amount of ASK gum in the diet
increased. This result provided direct proof concerning the antihyperglycemic function of ASK gum. We observed that FBG levels were
much higher in diabetic rat treatments compared to the normal rats,
even in the 2.7% ASK gum and metformin treatments. Obviously,
this was because diabetic rats were not only treated with ASK gum
but also treated with high fat diet while the normal control rats were
not fed high fat diet. Though comparisons among diabetic groups in
this study can prove that ASK gum has antihyperglycemic effects,
we did not demonstrate the optimal antihyperglycemic ability of
ASK gum under controlled diet conditions. In this study, diabetic
rats showed high GSP levels which indicated poor glycemic control.
ASK gum gave evidence of antihyperglycemic effects by showing a
signicant decrease in the GSP level in a dose-dependent manner.
The liver, which accounts for approximately 80% of endogenous
glucose production (EGP), is primarily responsible for increased
FBG (Stumvoll et al., 2005). Our study found that a high fat diet
induced diminished liver glycogen synthesis in diabetic rats. We
also observed a signicant elevation in liver glycogen accompanied
by a signicant increase in liver glucokinase by ASK gum in diabetic
groups. This implies that ASK gum lowered EGP by transforming
more blood glucose into liver glycogen.
4.3. Effect of ASK gum on hyperlipemia in type 2 diabetic rats
Hypertriglyceridemia is frequently found in type 2 diabetes
and is viewed as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (Abbate
and Brunzell, 1990; Defronzo and Ferrannini, 1991). Therefore, it
is important for type 2 diabetic patients to reduce hypertriglyceridemia. The present study demonstrated that ASK gum can lower
serum TG levels signicantly. The risk of developing ischemic heart
disease is positively correlated with serum TC and low density
lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and negatively correlated with HDLC (Mayne, 1996). Our results showed that ASK gum signicantly
lowered serum TC and elevated serum HDL-C in type 2 diabetic
rats. The effect was also dose dependent.

415

A large number of researchers reported that an increase in serum

FFA led to hepatic insulin resistance by inhibiting the insulin signal
transduction system (Shulman, 2000; Kim et al., 2001; Kashyap et
al., 2002; Kruszynska et al., 2002; Lam et al., 2003; Belfort et al.,
2005). We found that ASK gum lowered serum FFA of diabetic rats
in a dose-dependent manner, similar to the effect of metformin. This
suggested that ASK gum can alleviate insulin resistance in type 2
diabetic rats. Our study is in agreement with other studies involving
SD rats in terms of serum FFA and insulin resistance (Itsuro et al.,
2004; Yang et al., 2005).
There have been a several recent reports concerning fat accumulation and steatosis in the livers of rats and mice fed with high
fat diet (Par et al., 2005; Huang et al., 2006; Guo et al., 2008). Liver
fat accumulation is associated with insulin resistance, which is supported by the fact that a decrease in hepatic fat is accompanied by
improvements in insulin sensitivity and splanchnic glucose uptake
(Kahn and Flier, 2000; Samuel et al., 2004). In this study, we found
severe hepatic steatosis in rats belonging to the diabetic control
group, which was in accordance with previous reports (Par et al.,
2005; Huang et al., 2006; Guo et al., 2008). There was a signicant
decrease in liver fat accumulation in the ASK gum treatment compared with the diabetic control group, which indicated that ASK
gum can alleviate hepatic insulin resistance in a dose-dependent
way.
5. Conclusions
In summary, our results provide evidence that ASK gum can
alleviate hyperglycemia, hyperlipemia and insulin resistance of
high-fat low-dose-STZ-induced type 2 diabetic rats. Its therapeutic
mechanism may be associated with an effect on liver fat accumulation and serum FFA. Compared to other antidiabetic drugs, ASK
gum has the advantage of being a common food additive. Therefore,
it can be easily added to the diet of patients with type 2 diabetes.
Larger, long-term studies need to be performed to justify and evaluate the antidiabetic effects of ASK gum on patients with type 2
diabetes under controlled diet conditions.
Acknowledgements
This research was nancially supported by the Public Industry Project (grant number: nyhyzx07-009), Ministry of Agriculture,
China, by Research Projects for Young Staff, Northwest A&F University, and by the Agriculture Development Project, Yangling
Demonstration Zone. The authors gratefully thank Dr. Gale, W.J. for
making grammatical corrections to the manuscript. The technical
support of Dr. Xu, Y.P. and Dr. Li, Z.C., researchers from the Neurobiological Research Center, Northwest A&F University, is also gratefully
acknowledged.

4.4. Effect of ASK gum on insulin resistance of type 2 diabetic rats

References
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Interestingly, ASK gum did not alleviate the hyperinsulinemia of
type 2 diabetic rats (Table 2), indicating the possibility that ASK
gum did not change insulin secretion of pancreatic -cells in type
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