posted on 2023-01-06, 19:35authored byShuang Qi, Bo Jiang, Caoxing Huang, Yongcan Jin
With the rapid increase of diabetes cases in the world,
there is
an increasing demand for slowing down and managing diabetes and its
effects. It is considered that a viable prophylactic treatment for
type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is to reduce carbohydrate digestibility
by controlling the activities of α-amylase and α-glucosidase
to control postprandial hyperglycemia and promote the growth of intestinal
beneficial bacteria. In this work, the effects of sulfonated lignin
with different sulfonation degrees (0.8 mmol/g, SL1; 2.9
mmol/g, SL2) on the inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase
and the proliferation of intestinal beneficial bacteria in vitro were
investigated. The results showed that both SL1 and SL2 can inhibit the activity of α-amylase and α-glucosidase.
The inhibition capacity (IC50, 32.35 μg/mL) of SL2 with a low concentration (0–0.5 mg/mL) to α-amylase
was close to that of acarbose to α-amylase (IC50,
27.33 μg/mL). Compared with the control groups, the bacterial
cell concentrations of Bifidobacteria adolescentis and Lactobacillus acidophilus cultured
with SL1 and SL2 increased in varying degrees
(8–36%), and the produced short-chain fatty acids were about
1.2 times higher. This work demonstrates the prospect of sulfonated
lignin as a prebiotic for the prevention and treatment of T2DM, which
provides new insights for opening up a brand new field of lignin.