Abstract: ObjectiveTo study the influence of shenling baizhu powder and metformin on the miR-146a, glucagon like
peptide-1(GLP-1), interleukin-12 (IL-12) and serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride(TG) and low density lipoprotein
cholesterol (LDL-C) in type 2 diabetic mellitus (T2DM) obesity. MethodsA total of 86 patients with T2DM obesity were divided
into experimental group (patients treated with shenling baizhu powder and metformin) and control group (patients treated with
metformin) by randomly method. The treatment lasted for 6 months. The venous blood samples of patients were collected on the
day before treatment, 1 week, 3 months and 6 months after treatment. miR-146a was detected by qPCR, and the level of blood
lipid was detected by biochemical colorimetry, the serum levels of GLP-1 and IL-12 were detected by enzyme linked
immunosorbent assay (ELISA). ResultsCompared with the control group, the levels of miR-146a and GLP-1 were increased,
serum IL-12 was decreased three months after treatment in experimental group, while the serum levels of TC and TG were also
decreased six months after treatment (P＜0.05). With the prolongation of treatment time, the serum levels of miR-146a and GLP-
1 showed an increasing trend in experimental group and control group (P＜0.05), while the level of IL-12 showed a decreasing
trend in experimental group and control group (P＜0.05). The serum levels of TC, TG, LDL-C and body mass index (BMI) were
started decreasing 3 months after treatment in experimental group (P＜0.05). The expression level of miR-146a was positively
correlated with serum GLP-1 levels in T2DM (r=0.874, P＜0.01), and negatively correlated with IL-12, TC, TG and LDL-C levels
(r= -0.744, -0.456, -0.397 and -0.629, P＜0.01). The serum level of GLP-1 was negatively correlated with IL-12, TC, TG and
LDL-C levels (r = -0.807, -0.482, -0.452 and -0.693, P＜0.01). Conclusion The shenling baizhu powder combined with metformin can effectively improve serum levels of TG and TC in T2DM obesity. The mechanism may be related with increasing
the levels of miR-146a and GLP-1, decreasing the inflammatory factors and IL-12 level.

Key words: diabetes mellitus, type 2, Shenling baizhu powders, obesity, metformin, dyslipidemias, glucagon-like peptide 1, miR-146a