Salidroside is a functionally versatile natural compound from the perennial flowering plant Rhodiola rosea L. Here, we examined obese mice treated with
salidroside at the dosage of 50 mg/kg/day for 48 days. Mice treated with
salidroside showed slightly decreased food intake,
body weight and hepatic
triglyceride content. Importantly,
salidroside treatment significantly improved
glucose and
insulin tolerance. It also increased
insulin singling in both liver and epididymal white adipose tissue (eWAT). In addition,
salidroside markedly ameliorated
hyperglycemia in treated mice, which is likely due to the suppression of gluconeogenesis by
salidroside as the
protein levels of a gluconeogenic
enzyme G6Pase and a co-activator PGC-1α were all markedly decreased. Further analysis revealed that adipogenesis in eWAT was significantly decreased in
salidroside treated mice. The infiltration of macrophages in eWAT and the productions of pro-inflammatory
cytokines were also markedly suppressed by
salidroside. Furthermore, the
leptin signal transduction in hypothalamus was improved by
salidroside. Taken together, these euglycemic effects of
salidroside may due to repression of adipogenesis and
inflammation in eWAT and stimulation of
leptin signal transduction in hypothalamus. Thus,
salidroside might be used as an effective anti-diabetic agent.