A polyphenol-rich Calafate (Berberis microphylla) extract rescues glucose tolerance in mice fed with cafeteria diet
Jessica Soto‐Covasich, Marjorie Reyes‐Farias, Rodrigo F. Torres, Karla Yohannessen Vásquez, Lucimar Gomes Oliveira Duarte, José Uriel Cornejo Quezada, Paula Jiménez, María Teresa Pérez Pino, L. Garcia-Nannig, Luís Mercado, Diego F. García‐Díaz
Abstract
The establishment of a chronic inflammatory state in the adipose tissue contributes to obesity-associated insulin resistance. Hence, disrupting the inflammatory response elicited by obesity remains a relevant target to tackle the modern-world pandemic. We evaluated the anti-inflammatory and insulin-sensitizing effect of Calafate (Berberis microphylla) by producing and characterizing a polyphenol-pure Calafate extract (PPCE). C57BL/6 mice fed with cafeteria diet for 14 weeks were administered PPCE (50 mg/Kg/day) for 4 weeks. PPCE administration rescued glucose tolerance and insulin-elicited AKT phosphorylation in white adipose tissue of diet-induced insulin-resistant mice. Furthermore, the cafeteria diet-induced expression of TNF-alpha and F4/80 was attenuated by PPCE administration, suggesting that PPCE rescues insulin sensibility by ameliorating the obesity-associated inflammatory state. Altogether, our data shows that Calafate represents a natural source of polyphenols with glucose tolerance-improving properties in vivo, suggesting a potential use of PPCE as a complementary tool against insulin resistance.