Thyme honey reduced hyperglycemia in male rats subjected to chronic unpredictable mild stress: Possible involvement of GLUT۴ protein and circulating irisin

Objective: Chronic stress is a common and fundamental problem in human life all over the world which threatens the health. Stress-induced metabolic disorders are attenuated by natural honey feeding. So, we examined protective impact of thyme honey in the regulation of blood glucose via measuring the expression level of muscle GLUT۴ protein in chronic unpredictable mild stressed (CUMS) male rats.Materials and Methods: Six groups of adult male Wistar rats were designed in this study; control group that received water; unstressed groups that were treated with honey (۰.۲ and ۲ g/kg/day) for ۳۸ days; stressed group that received CUMS for ۴ weeks; treated stressed groups that were gavaged by honey (۰.۲ and ۲ g/kg/day) for ۳۸ days (from ۱۰ days before induction of stress until the end of stress period). A day after the experiment period (۳۹th day), in non-fasting status, rats were sacrificed to measure glucose, insulin, irisin, lipid profile at serum level and GLUT۴ protein content in muscle tissue via western blotting method.Results: Honey reduced hyperglycemia induced by CUMS, significantly increased serum irisin and non-significantly increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) which were decreased by CUMS, but did not affect other serum lipids and insulin. CUMS down-regulated GLUT۴ protein level. Honey feeding (۲ g/kg) in stressed rats interestingly increased level of GLUT۴ protein and maintained it at a normal level.Conclusion: Together, it may be concluded that honey administration protects glycemic control system from chronic stress-induced dysregulation via an increase in production of irisin and maintaining the GLUT۴ protein levels.

کلیدواژه ها:

Thyme Honey ، GLUT۴ ، Irisin ، Hyperglycemia ، Chronic stress