Quercetin Preserves β-Cell Mass and Function in Fructose-Induced Hyperinsulinemia through Modulating Pancreatic Akt/FoxO1 Activation

Figure 1

Protective effects of quercetin on fructose-induced insulin hypersecretion and islets hyperplasia. Rats were fed with 10% (wt/vol) fructose for 8 weeks and treated with 50 or 100 mg/kg quercetin in the last 4 weeks. (a) Body weight, (b) OGTT assay, and (c, d) fasting serum insulin and leptin levels were tested in rats (𝑛=8). (e) H&E staining (×400) and immunofluorescence staining (scale bars represent 50 μm) in pancreas sections. Representative images were showed for insulin (red) of pancreas sections. Nuclei were stained with DAPI (blue). Mean islet area (f) and β-cell mass (g) were estimated by morphometric analyses. Mean islet area was detected, at least 20 islets from 4 individual rats for each genotype. Data were presented as the mean ± SEM. ^#𝑃<0.05, ^##𝑃<0.01, and ^###𝑃<0.001 relative to untreated control group; *𝑃<0.05, **𝑃<0.01, and ***𝑃<0.001 relative to fructose-fed rats treated with water (vehicle).

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