The leaves of Lagerstroemia speciosa (Lythraceae), a Southeast Asian tree more commonly known as banaba, have been traditionally consumed in various forms by Philippinos for treatment of diabetes and kidney related diseases. In the 1990s, the popularity of this herbal medicine began to attract the attention of scientists worldwide. Since then, researchers have conducted numerous in vitro and in vivo studies that consistently confirmed the antidiabetic activity of banaba. Scientists have identified different components of banaba to be responsible for its activity. Using tumor cells as a cell model, corosolic acid was isolated from the methanol extract of banaba and shown to be an active compound. More recently, a different cell model and the focus on the water soluble fraction of the extract led to the discovery of other compounds. The ellagitannin Lagerstroemin was identified as an effective component of the banaba extract responsible for the activity. In a different approach, using 3T3-L1 adipocytes as a cell model and a glucose uptake assay as the functional screening method, Chen et al. showed that the banaba water extract exhibited an insulin-like glucose transport inducing activity. Coupling HPLC fractionation with a glucose uptake assay, gallotannins were identified in the banaba extract as components responsible for the activity, not corosolic acid. Penta-O-galloyl-glucopyranose (PGG) was identified as the most potent gallotannin. A comparison of published data with results obtained for PGG indicates that PGG has a significantly higher glucose transport stimulatory activity than Lagerstroemin. Chen et al. have also shown that PGG exhibits anti-adipogenic properties in addition to stimulating the glucose uptake in adipocytes. The combination of glucose uptake and anti-adipogenesis activity is not found in the current insulin mimetic drugs and may indicate a great therapeutic potential of PGG.

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Background:Little is known about the enzymes involved in O-glycosylation of arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs) in plants. Results: Heterologously expressed AtGALT2 (At4g21060) catalyzed the addition of galactose to hydroxyproline in AGP peptide substrates. Conclusion: AtGALT2 is a galactosyltransferase responsible for initial galactosylation of AGPs. Significance: This work broadens our understanding of plant cell wall biosynthesis and provides an access point to identify other AGP glycosyltransferases.

The rapid increase of obesity-associated diabetes has created urgent demands for more effective antidiabetic therapies and pharmaceuticals that are able to address the problems of hyperglycemia and weight gain simultaneously. Our previous studies indicated that the alpha- and beta-anomers of penta-O-galloyl-D-glucopyranose (PGG), 2 and 3, act as insulin mimetics that bind to and activate the insulin receptor, stimulate glucose transport in adipocytes, and reduce blood glucose and insulin levels in diabetic and obese animals. In addition, they inhibit differentiation of preadipocytes into adipocytes. These activities suggest that 2 and 3 may reduce blood glucose without increasing adiposity. To investigate the structure-activity relationship of 2 and 3, four series of novel compounds were prepared and their glucose transport stimulatory activities were measured using a radioactive glucose uptake bioassay. The assay results indicate that both the glucose and the galloyl groups are critical to the activity of 2 and 3. It appears that the glucose core provides an optimal scaffold to present the galloyl groups with the correct spatial orientation to induce activity. Moreover, the galloyl groups linked to the 1, 2, 3, and 4 positions of glucose are essential, while the galloyl group connected to the 6 position of 2 is unnecessary for the induction of activity. The discovery that two related novel compounds, 6-deoxytetra-O-galloyl-alpha-D-glucopyranose (43) and tetra-O-galloyl-alpha-D-xylopyranose (59), also possess glucose transport stimulatory activity suggests that 2 may be further modified around position 6 to modulate and enhance its efficacy. To test this hypothesis, we developed a new synthetic method that allows for the stereoselective preparation of derivatives of 2 that are modified on C-6. We found that 6-chloro-6-deoxy-1,2,3,4-tetra-O-galloyl-alpha-D-glucopyranose (80) exhibits a significantly higher glucose transport stimulatory activity than 2. Its activity is comparable to that of insulin.