Antidiabetic Effects and Mechanisms of Action of γ-Conglutin from Lupin Seeds

Abstract

γ-Conglutin, a storage protein found in lupin seeds, has demonstrated antidiabetic properties in several in vivo and in vitro studies, yet its cellular mechanisms of action remained incompletely understood. This study investigates the antidiabetic effects and mechanisms of action of γ-conglutin derived from lupin seeds.

The study shows that proteolytically digested γ-conglutin peptides promote glucose uptake and glycogen synthesis in human skeletal muscle cells (HSMM). The peptides stimulate the mTOR downstream signalling pathway in these muscle cells, indicating that γ-conglutin mediates its metabolic effects through insulin-like signalling in peripheral tissues. Importantly, γ-conglutin peptides were found not to exhibit insulinotropic action in pancreatic β-cells, indicating that their antidiabetic effects operate primarily through direct effects on glucose metabolism in muscle tissue rather than through stimulation of pancreatic insulin secretion. The protein undergoes two-stage gastrointestinal proteolytic hydrolysis to produce the bioactive peptides responsible for these metabolic effects. These findings establish the molecular basis for the antidiabetic properties of lupin γ-conglutin and support its development as a functional food ingredient for type 2 diabetes management.

@article{tapadia2021antidiabetic,
  title         = {Antidiabetic Effects
                  and Mechanisms of Action of {\ensuremath{\gamma}}-Conglutin from Lupin Seeds},
  author        = {Tapadia, Mrunmai and Johnson, Stuart and Utikar, Ranjeet and Newsholme,
                  Philip and Carlessi, Rodrigo},
  year          = 2021,
  journal       = {Journal of Functional Foods},
  publisher     = {Elsevier},
  volume        = 87,
  pages         = 104786
}