Abstract
The adzuki bean is a mature seed of the red bean leguminous plant, and people like to eat it because of its nutritious properties and moderate proportion of amino acids. Adzuki bean germination and the enrichment of GABA greatly improve the health effects of the adzuki bean. The effects of the GABA-rich adzuki bean on the expression of insulin-pathway-related genes and proteins in the liver of T2DM mice were studied via Western blotting and qPCR. The results showed that a GABA-rich adzuki bean diet could promote glycogen synthesis in the liver of T2DM mice, inhibit the activities of PEPCK and G-6-Pase, and significantly down-regulate the gene expression levels of PEPCK, G6PC and FOXO1 (p < 0.05) and the phosphorylation levels of FOXO1 and GSK3β. In addition, it can also up-regulate the expression of the AMPKα gene and down-regulate the expression of the SREBP1c gene to inhibit the synthesis of triglycerides and cholesterol in T2DM mice. Lipid accumulation in mice can alleviate glucose and lipid metabolism disorders and play an effective role in regulating blood glucose at liver tissue targets. This study suggested that the GABA-rich adzuki bean can improve hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetic mice by activating the IRS/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in the liver.