Taxonomic group: plant / Streptophyta
(Phylum: Streptophyta)
Organ / tissue: leaf
NCBI PubMed ID: 10690946Publication DOI: 10.1016/s0026-0495(00)91325-8Journal NLM ID: 0375362Publisher: New York: Oxford University Press
Institutions: Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark, Islet Cell Physiology, Novo Nordisk, Copenhagen, Denmark
The natural sweetener stevioside, which is found in the plant Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni, has been used for many years in the treatment of diabetes among Indians in Paraguay and Brazil. However, the mechanism for the blood glucose—lowering effect remains unknown . To elucidate the impact of stevioside and its aglucon steviol on insulin release from normal mouse islets and the β-cell line INS-1 were used. Both stevioside and steviol (1 nmol/L to 1 mmol/L) dose-dependently enhanced insulin secretion from incubated mouse islets in the presence of 16.7 mmol/L glucose (P < .05). The insulinotropic effects of stevioside and steviol were critically dependent on the prevailing glucose concentration, ie, stevioside (1 mmol/L) and steviol (1 μmol/L) only potentiated insulin secretion at or above 8.3 mmol/L glucose (P < .05). Interestingly, the insulinotropic effects of both stevioside and steviol were preserved in the absence of extracellular Ca2+. During perifusion of islets, stevioside (1 mmol/L) and steviol (1 μmol/L) had a long-lasting and apparently reversible insulinotropic effect in the presence of 16.7 mmol/L glucose (P < .05). To determine if stevioside and steviol act directly on β cells, the effects on INS-1 cells were also investigated. Stevioside and steviol both potentiated insulin secretion from INS-1 cells (P < .05). Neither stevioside (1 to 100 μmol/L) nor steviol (10 nmol/L to 10 μmol/L) influenced the plasma membrane K+ adenosine triphosphate (KATP+)-sensitive channel activity, nor did they alter cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) levels in islets. In conclusion, stevioside and steviol stimulate insulin secretion via a direct action on β cells. The results indicate that the compounds may have a potential role as antihyperglycemic agents in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus.
steviol, stevioside, insulin secretion, INS-1 cells
Structure type: oligomer
Location inside paper: abstract
Trivial name: stevioside
Compound class: saponin glycoside, glycoside
Contained glycoepitopes: IEDB_140628,IEDB_142488,IEDB_146664,IEDB_983931,SB_192
Methods: biological assays, radioactivity measurement, cell growth, dialysis, centrifugation, radioimmunoassay
Biological activity: stevioside and steviol stimulate insulin secretion from mouse islets and INS-I cells. Stevioside and steviol seem to possess antihyperglycemic effects that may be important in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Stevioside and steviol seem to have an inherent advantage over the classic sulfonylureas, since the action of the diterpenes is not mediated via K,~av-sensitive channels
NCBI Taxonomy refs (TaxIDs): 55670
Show glycosyltransferases
There is only one chemically distinct structure:
Found 
report error