Abstract

Nutrients in diets, especially functional foods, are beneficial in metabolism-related diseases, such as diabetes. Cinnamaldehyde (CA), a natural flavorant, inhibits glycolysis while enhancing glucose storage. Kaempferol (KP), a flavonol in edible plants, inhibits amino acid metabolism and gluconeogenesis. Whether the combination of CA and KP exerts stronger effects in diabetes needs further investigation. In this work, nontargeted metabolomics results confirmed the simultaneous obstruction of glucose and amino acid metabolism by CA and KP. The falling status of the energy supply, demonstrated by the increased ratio of adenosine   monophosphate (AMP) /adenosine   triphosphate (ATP), was sensed by AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). The activation of AMPK in turn enhanced lipolysis and inhibited fatty acid synthesis both in vivo and in vitro. In conclusion, this study indicated that the CA and KP combination ameliorated glucose and lipid metabolism disorders by enhancing lipid metabolism via the activation of AMPK.