Figure 7. Prevention of glucose intolerance with stevioside treatment during HFD.

(a) Results of i.p. GTT performed on eight WT mice at different time points after the start of HFD in control conditions. The indicated significance is the result of a paired sample t-test between week 0 and 20. Values are average±s.e.m. (b) Results from GTTs in eight WT mice, on HFD treated with a daily dose of 25 mg kg⁻¹ stevioside. The indicated significance is the result of a paired sample t-test between week 0 and 20. Values are average±s.e.m. (c) Area under the curve (AUC) from 0 to 120 min during the GTT on the WT mice from a,b. The solid and dotted lines represent the logistic fit for the respective data sets. The represented values are averages±s.e.m. from eight animals in every group, in two independent experiments, the significances are the result of a two-sample t-test between the untreated and stevioside-treated groups at the same week during the HFD. (d–f) As in a–c but from Trpm5^−/− mice. (g) Glycaemia (average±s.e.m.) during hyperinsulinemic euglycaemic clamp from WT and Trpm5^−/− animals. Infusion of steviol did not change the glycaemia during euglycaemic glucose infusion. (h) Glucose infusion rate during hyperinsulinemic euglycaemic clamp. No significant differences were detected between WT and Trpm5^−/− animals. (i) Glycaemia of WT mice on a HFD with or without stevioside (124 μM in drinking water) during a euglycaemic hyperinsulinemic clamp. Basal glycaemia is lower for the mice receiving stevioside, two-sample t-test between treatment groups on the average of −20 and −10 min glycaemic values. (j) Glucose infusion rates during euglycaemic hyperinsulinemic clamp experiments. Glucose infusion rate and hence insulin resistance was not different due to stevioside treatment during HFD. Acute i.v. infusion of 0.8 μmol kg⁻¹ steviol did not change the glycaemia during perfusion with the euglycaemic glucose infusion rate. See also Supplementary Figs 12 and 13 and Supplementary Table 2. NS, not significant.