As the rate of obesity and type-2 diabetes is constantly increasing, there is a need to develop new therapeutic approaches with better effects and lower side effects at lower prices. The use of traditional foods with beneficial health properties could be a solution. Lupin, a legume rich in proteins, exerts a hypoglycemic effects and positively modifies proteins involved in glucose homeostasis, in both animals and humans. The aim of this study was to investigate the beneficial effects of lupin flour supplementation on glucose homeostasis using an in vivo model. The condition of insulin resistance (IR) was induced by diet containing corn oil (4%). Ten-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were given ad libitum access to a corn bean meal diet for 9 weeks (CD) or a cornbean meal diet enriched with 2% lupine flour (LC). Food intake was evaluated daily and body weight was measured weekly. Intra-peritoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT) was performed to assess the body’s ability to metabolize glucose. Food was removed 15 h before the start of IPGTT, and mice body weights after food deprivation were used to calculate glucose doses. Blood glucose and plasma insulin concentrations were measured. The quantity of food ingested was similar between groups. At the 9th week of treatment, the time-course of glucose clearance in both groups remained elevated for 120 min after glucose administration, indicating a glucose intolerance state. However, HOMA-IR was significantly lower (p=0.02) in LC than in CD group: the LC group showed significantly lower plasma insulin (2.09 ± 0.53 ng/mL) (p = 0.002) than the CD group (3.34 ± 0.56 ng/mL) while plasma glucose did not differ between groups (140 ± 24.9 mg/dL vs. 138 ± 35.5 mg/dL). These biological effects of lupine flour strengthen its promising potential as a new therapeutic agent of treatment for human insulin resistance conditions.
I. Terruzzi: None. F. Vacante: None. P. Senesi: None. A. Montesano: None. R. Codella: None. L. Luzi: Speaker's Bureau; Self; A. Menarini Diagnostics, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly and Company. Research Support; Self; Gelesis. Consultant; Self; McKinsey & Company. Speaker's Bureau; Self; Menarini Group, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.. Research Support; Self; Novartis AG. Speaker's Bureau; Self; Novo Nordisk A/S. Research Support; Self; Sunstar Foundation. Speaker's Bureau; Self; Smith & Nephew.