ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Food Chemistry
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1573865
This article is part of the Research TopicPolyphenols and Betalains in Obesity and Metabolic SyndromeView all 5 articles
Hypoglycemic effect of Peony Flowers polyphenols based on gut microbiota and metabolomics
Provisionally accepted
Ling Chen1
Xuefang Wang1
Erjuan Ning1Lipan Zhang2Feifei Li1Lupeng Wang1
Jie Zhu1Huanan Zhang1Tao Wang1Yanni Ma1Wei Wang1Xiao Li3,4,5*- 1Henan Napu Biotechnology Co. Ltd., Zhengzhou, China
- 2Henan Institute of Business Science Co., Ltd., Zhengzhou, China
- 3Institute of Chemistry Henan Academy of Sciences, Zhengzhou, China
- 4Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, China
- 5Henan Academy of Sciences, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
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Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), remains a significant global public health concern. Peony has a long history of consumption and medicinal in China, and is rich in polyphenols, flavonoids, polysaccharides, and other components. We extracted and isolated peony flowers polyphenols (PP) from peony flowers (Paeonia ostii 'Fengdan'), with the total polyphenol content(TPC) of 81.13 ± 2.89%, and the contents of 17 components were detected by high-performance liquid chromatography. We established a T2DM mouse model using high-fat diet (HFD) combined with streptozotocin (STZ) and investigated the hypoglycemic effect and mechanism of PP. The results showed that after 8 weeks of intragastric administration, PP significantly reduced the fasting blood glucose (FBG)(P < 0.05), serum insulin level(P < 0.05), and insulin resistance index (P < 0.05), improved impaired glucose tolerance, regulated serum liver and kidney function related indicators, significantly increased superoxide dismutase(SOD) and glutathione peroxidase(GSH-PX) levels(P<0.05), significantly decreased malondialdehyde(MDA) level (P < 0.05) in the liver, and increased the contents of short-chain fatty acids(SCFAs) in the gut of T2DM mice. The results of 16SrRNA sequencing showed that PP could alter the gut microbiota of T2DM mice, increase the relative abundance of Firmicutes and Bacteroidota, while decrease the relative abundance of Proteobacteria. Non-targeted metabolomics results showed that the high-dose group of PP(PPH) can reverse the metabolic disorders of metabolite markers induced by T2DM in vivo. The results of this study showed that PP may play a hypoglycemic role by regulating intestinal flora and amino acid metabolism pathway. This research establishes a foundation for using PP as a functional food to prevent or alleviate type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Keywords: peony flowers polyphenols, T2DM, Gut Microbiota, Metabolomics, SCFAs 1. Introduction
Received: 10 Feb 2025; Accepted: 09 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chen, Wang, Ning, Zhang, Li, Wang, Zhu, Zhang, Wang, Ma, Wang and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xiao Li, Institute of Chemistry Henan Academy of Sciences, Zhengzhou, China
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