Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the leading cause of the end-stage renal disease worldwide and an independent risk factor for cardiovascular mortalities in diabetic patients. We evaluated the anti-hyperglycemic and anti-chronic renal damage effect of mulberry leaf tea, a potential functional food material. Mulberry leaf tea significantly alleviated symptoms of DN rats including reducing blood glucose level, improving insulin sensibility and ameliorating blood lipid profile and chronic renal damages. The abundant pharmacologically compounds in mulberry leaf tea such as 1-DNJ, flavonoids, polyphenols and polysaccharides were likely responsible for its beneficial effects. Furthermore, we found that mulberry leaf tea alleviated DN by reducing DAG-PKC cascades including regulating energy metabolism, improving insulin sensibility and reducing inflammatory response. Mulberry leaf tea also modulated the community structure of the intestinal flora which were closely associated with diabetes and its complications. Mulberry leaf tea provides a novel dietotherapy for DN.

糖尿病肾病（DN）是全世界终末期肾脏疾病的主要原因，也是糖尿病患者心血管疾病死亡的独立危险因素。我们评估了桑叶茶（一种潜在的功能性食品材料）的抗降血糖和抗慢性肾脏损伤作用。桑叶茶可显着缓解DN大鼠的症状，包括降低血糖水平，改善胰岛素敏感性，改善血脂状况和慢性肾脏损害。桑叶茶中的丰富药理化合物（例如1-DNJ），类黄酮，多酚和多糖可能是其有益作用的原因。此外，我们发现桑叶茶可通过减少DAG-PKC级联反应（包括调节能量代谢）来减轻DN。改善胰岛素敏感性并减少炎症反应。桑叶茶还调节与糖尿病及其并发症密切相关的肠道菌群的群落结构。桑叶茶为DN提供了一种新颖的饮食疗法。