A novel standardized chromone extract (UP780) from Aloe regulated adiponectin production and improved insulin resistance

There are a few nutritional approaches to address the increased needs of preventing metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Metabolic syndrome patients experience low levels of circulating adiponectin, elevated fasting glucose and hemoglobin HbA1c. A plant extract library was screened for enhancing adiponectin production of adipocytes differentiated from mouse fibroblasts (3T3 L1). Chromone compounds, aloesin and aloesinol, were isolated and showed increases of adiponectin after random screening of 2,059 extracts. After three weeks treatment of high fat diet induced C57BL/6J pre-diabetic mice, plasma insulin level was decreased 37.9% and 46.7% by aloesin and aloesinol, respectively. When db/db mice treated 10 weeks with a standardized chromone extract (UP780) from Aloe plants, a 54% reduction in fasting blood glucose and a 34% decrease of triglyceride were achieved. Oral dose range (100, 200 and 400mg/kg) finding study of the standardized chromone extract (UP780) in high fat diet fed C57BL/6J pre-diabetic mice showed that insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance were significantly improved after two weeks of treatment in the 200mg/kg group. Microarray analysis of liver RNA from UP780 (200mg/kg) treated mice demonstrated that UP780 normalized the changes of hundreds of genes induced by high fat diets. QPCR analysis of adipose tissues isolated from UP780-treated mice confirmed up-regulation of gene expression of adiponectin. A randomized placebo controlled, pilot human clinical study of metabolic syndrome patients, who were treated with UP780at 500mg bid, resulted in a significant reduction in HbA1c over the 8-week period (5% reduction, p<0.01) without any side effects.