Salacia chinensis stem extract and its thiosugar sulfonium constituent, neokotalanol, improves HbA1c levels in ob/ob mice.

The antidiabetic effects of a hot water extract of the stems of Salacia chinensis (SCE) were evaluated in vivo in ob/ob mice (genetically obese hyperglycemic mice). Administration of dietary feed containing 0.20 and 0.50% of SCE for 23 days to ob/ob mice significantly suppressed the elevation of both blood glucose and HbA1c levels, without significantly changing body weight and food intake. To characterize the antidiabetic effects of the thiosugar sulfonium constituent neokotalanol (1), which has potent α-glucosidase inhibitory activity, we performed a similar in vivo study. HbA1c levels were significantly suppressed in ob/ob mice after the administration of dietary feed containing 0.0003% of neokotalanol (1) for 20 days. These results indicate that SCE and neokotalanol (1) are potential leads for the development of novel antidiabetic agents.