The amelioration of metabolic disorders in early stage diabetic rats by resveratrol is associated with mTORC1 regulation

Resveratrol (RSV) is a natural polyphenol that exerts anti-diabetic effects. The present study was aimed to elucidate the effects of RSV treatment on type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) induced metabolic disorders in rats. Streptozotocin (STZ) induced type 1 DM rats were treated with insulin or RSV, and the urine and plasma metabolites were analyzed by electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry among normal, DM, insulin treated DM and RSV treated DM rats. RSV treatment was shown to ameliorate general DM symptoms, such as increased food consumption, water consumption and urine output. RSV treatment also increased glycogen storage in liver, and inhibited protein degradation through down-regulation of protein ubiquitination. RSV treatment down-regulated mTORC1/SREBP pathway and exerted hypolipidaemic effects. Our results suggested that the metabolic benefits of RSV in DM rats, including up-regulation of glycogen synthesis, down-regulation of protein degradation and lipogenesis, were probably mediated through normalization of dysregulated hepatic mTORC1 activity.