Centella Asiatica Alleviates Type 2 Diabetes-Related Hepatic Glycolipid Disorders via Regulating UPP1-Mediated Pyrimidine Metabolism

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a metabolic disorder characterized by glycolipid dysregulation and hepatic steatosis. Centella asiatica (CA) and its triterpenoid constituents exert metabolic benefits. In addition, previous metabolomics study found that asiatic acid regulated pyrimidine metabolism in obese mice, while the key target and pathway were undefined. This study investigated the regulatory effects of CA and its active constituents on T2DM-related glycolipid disorders, focusing on the pyrimidine metabolism pathway. T2DM mice were established using a high-fat diet combined with streptozotocin (STZ) and treated with Centella asiatica ethanolic extract or asiatic acid (AA), with glibenclamide as a positive control. Then, glycolipid metabolism, hepatic function, pyrimidine metabolites, and related mechanisms were assessed using biochemical assays, LC–MS/MS, cellular experiments, molecular analyses, and molecular docking. CAE and AA significantly reduced FBG (decreased by 51.01% and 53.01%), improved glucose intolerance, corrected dyslipidemia, alleviated hepatic steatosis, and attenuated insulin resistance in T2DM mice. They elevated hepatic uridine, cytidine, and UDP-glucose (UDPG) levels, promoted glycogen synthesis, inhibited uridine phosphorylase 1 (UPP1) activity, upregulated UDPG synthesis genes (PGM1, UGP2), and downregulated lipogenic genes (ACACA, Fasn, SREBP1/2). Molecular docking indicated specific binding of AA and asiaticoside to UPP1. This work distinguishes from our prior research by identifying UPP1 as a functional target and elucidating the detailed molecular mechanism. CA improves T2DM-associated glycolipid disorders and hepatic injury by modulating the pyrimidine metabolism-UDPG-glycogen synthesis pathway and targeting UPP1, highlighting its therapeutic potential for metabolic diseases.