Aquaculture Reports (Feb 2022)
Effects of genistein on glucose and lipid metabolism of common carp (Cyprinus carpio. L) in vivo and in vitro
Abstract
Genistein exhibits anti-diabetic and anti-lipogenic effects in mammals, however, there are rare reports on the effects of genistein on glucose and lipid metabolism in fish. This study explored the regulation role of genistein on glucose and lipid metabolism of common carp. After oral gavage with genistein (20 mg/kg body weight), the content of genistein in serum was the highest at 4 h and rapidly returned to basal values at 48 h. The blood glucose (GLU) concentrations were decreased at 24 h after gavage with genistein. The total cholesterol (TC) level was significantly down-regulated by genistein except for 24 h (P < 0.01). On the contrary, serum triglycerides (TG), LDL-C, and HDL-C were significantly up-regulated after treatment (P < 0.05). The mRNA level of the genes related to gluconeogenesis, glycogen synthesis, and lipolysis was significantly inhibited after treatment with genistein. Meanwhile, genistein administration has up-regulated the level of lipid synthesis-related genes. To compare the effects of genistein with estradiol, the primary hepatocytes were incubated with different concentrations of genistein (1, 10, or 100 µM) and 17β-estradiol (E2, 1 µM) respectively. Similar to the in vivo results, the lipid synthesis-related genes levels were increased and lipolysis genes were decreased after treatment with a high dose of genistein (100 µM). On the contrary, the genes involved in lipid synthesis were down-regulated, while lipolysis genes were up-regulated at the low and medium doses of genistein (1 and 10 µM). Moreover, low and medium doses of genistein enhanced the expression of gluconeogenesis-related genes. There is a certain similar effect of estrogen and genistein in vitro, it is speculated that genistein may play an estrogen-like role in regulating glucose and lipid metabolism. The effect of genistein on fish glucose and lipid metabolism may be affected by the concentration level, treatment time, or the methods.
