Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals Effects of Fucoxanthin on Intestinal Glucose Transport

Fucoxanthin, one of carotenoid pigments from plants and algae, is known to regulate blood glucose and insulin levels. The mechanism of its hypoglycemic activity has drawn a lot of scientific interest in recent years. In this study, we investigated the effects of fucoxanthin on intestinal glucose transport using a murine model. Our data demonstrated that fucoxanthin was able to decrease blood glucose level and alleviate insulin resistance significantly. The results from RNA-seq based transcriptomic analysis, suggested that fucoxanthin acted as key regulators in Insulin/PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling and PKA/AMPK/mTOR signaling pathways. Moreover, fucoxanthin ingestion resulted in a significant reduction in the protein expression of intestinal glucose transporters, such as SGLT-1, and led to the translocation of GLUT-2, which contributed to the regulation of blood glucose level. Together, our findings provided a mechanistic insight into the regulatory effect of fucoxanthin on blood glucose.

岩藻黄质（Fucoxanthin）是一类存在于植物与藻类中的类胡萝卜素（carotenoid pigments），其具备调节血糖与胰岛素水平的功能已得到广泛认知。近年来，该物质降血糖活性的作用机制受到了学界的广泛关注。本研究采用小鼠模型，探究了岩藻黄质对肠道葡萄糖转运过程的调控效应。实验数据表明，岩藻黄质可显著降低血糖水平并改善胰岛素抵抗。基于RNA测序（RNA-seq）的转录组学分析结果显示，岩藻黄质可作为关键调控因子参与胰岛素/PI3K/AKT/mTOR及PKA/AMPK/mTOR信号通路的调控。此外，摄入岩藻黄质可显著降低肠道葡萄糖转运蛋白（如SGLT-1）的蛋白表达水平，并引发GLUT-2的转位，这一效应共同参与血糖稳态的调控。综上，本研究的发现为岩藻黄质的血糖调节作用提供了机制层面的深入阐释。