Abstract: Objective: To explore the preventive effect of refined corn bran with different treatments on hyperglycemia in diabetic mice induced by streptozocin (STZ). Methods: Refined corn bran (RCB) after removing starch and protein was treated by acid and alkali, respectively to obtain an acidic hydrolysate (HAC) and an alkaline hydrolysate (HAL). After being fed standard diet alone or with the respective additions of RCB, HAC and HAL for 21 consecutive days, mice were subjected to multiple low-dose STZ injections for creating a diabetic mouse model except the normal group. The body weight, food intake, blood glucose, physical activity and liver index in each mouse were examined. Results: Compared with the control group, HAC and HAL could significantly suppress the reduction of body weight (P＜0.05), increase physical activity, and delay fatigue in diabetic mice. In addition, HAC could significantly decrease blood glucose in the liver of diabetic mice (P＜0.05), whereas, GSH and SOD levels were obviously increased. Moreover, HAC could also increase glycogen level remarkably and decrease MDA level in the liver. Conclusion: HAC can effectively prevent the increase of blood glucose and the reduction of body weight in STZ-induced diabetic mice and the mechanisms might be correlated to the increase of antioxidant activity and maintenance of liver glycogen in diabetic mice.

Key words: refined corn bran, streptozocin, diabetic mice, blood glucose, prevention