earticle

영어

Changes in the levels of analytes in the blood and urine of a rodent animal model were taken as a measure of the hypoglycemic effects of a diet containing fermented chaga mushroom. These studies were conducted using the genetically manipulated diabetic Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rat. The effects of 8-week long diets that included either fermented (FCM) or non-fermented (CM) chaga mushroom powder (5% in the diet) on the OLETF rat were compared to the normal diet fed OLETF rat and the non-diabetic Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka (LETO) rat. Hypoglycemia was tracked by measuring serum and urine concentrations of glucose, insulin, fructosamine, and leptin. Serum and urine levels of glucose, fructosamine, and leptin in the OLETF rats were higher than in LETO rats when fed normal diets but insulin levels did not differ between the two animal groups. The FCM rats were characterized by dramatically low levels of serum glucose and leptin in the OLETF rats whereas the levels of fructosamine and urine glucose trended lower in response to FCM. The serum leptin level in the CM-fed OLETF rat was also lower than that in the normal diet fed OLETF control. Serum concentrations of insulin in the OLETF rats were higher following FCM or CM feeding compared to the normal diet. These observations imply that (a) a dietary supplement of fermented chaga mushroom may contribute to a hypoglycemic effect in the OLETF rat, and (b) the increased blood insulin concentration following 8 weeks of an FCM diet may be important to the noted improvement in hyperglycemia.