Advances in Mechanism Research on Polygonatum in Prevention and Treatment of Diabetes

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is a fast-growing disease with a major influence on people’s quality of life. Oral hypoglycemic drugs and insulin are currently the main effective drugs in the treatment of diabetes, but chronic consumption of these drugs has certain side effects. Polysaccharides, saponins, flavonoids, and phenolics are the primary secondary metabolites isolated from the rhizomes of Polygonatum sibiricum Redouté [Asparagaceae], Polygonatum kingianum Collett & Hemsl [Asparagaceae], or Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua [Asparagaceae], which have attracted much more attention owing to their unique therapeutic role in the treatment and prevention of diabetes. However, the research on the mechanism of these three Polygonatum spp. in diabetes has not been reviewed. This review provides a summary of the research progress of three Polygonatum spp. on diabetes and its complications, reveals the potential antidiabetic mechanism of three Polygonatum spp., and discusses the effect of different processed products of three Polygonatum spp. in treating diabetes, for the sake of a thorough understanding of its effects on the prevention and treatment of diabetes and diabetes complications.

Polygonatum polysaccharide attenuates inflammation through inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome in diabetic cardiomyopathy rats

“…Polygonatum is a widespread genus of Asparagaceae family and is extensively distributed in China. It has been used as a medicine or food for over 2000 years, and is utilized in fatty liver disease, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease (Liu et al, 2022;Ma et al, 2021;Zhao et al, 2018). Polygonatum includes polysaccharides, steroidal saponins, alkaloids, flavonoids, anthraquinone, and lignans; of these, polygonatum polysaccharide (PP) is the main active component (Wang et al, 2021).…”

Health-Promoting Activities and Associated Mechanisms of Polygonati Rhizoma Polysaccharides

“…In particular, T2DM is characterized by hyperglycemia due to a defect in insulin secretion of pancreatic β-cells and insulin resistance [ 106 ]. Polygonati Rhizoma has been used in the treatment of diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and related metabolic syndrome for centuries [ 107 , 108 , 109 ]. In particular, Polygonati Rhizoma polysaccharides alleviated hyperglycemia and reduced oxidative stress, and further delayed the progression of diabetic retinopathy and cataracts ( Table 2 ).…”

Huangjing—From medicine to healthy food and diet

“…Polysaccharides and saponins in Huangjing have also been reported to be effective in preventing and treating diabetes by restoring intestinal microflora homeostasis,and maintaining intestinal health (Liu et al., 2022; Yan et al., 2017). Huangjing polysaccharides and saponins can increase the levels of SCFAs, resulting in increased glycogen synthesis in muscle and liver cells, reduce glycogen, and lipolysis, as well activate the expression of PPARγ in adipocytes (Lu et al., 2016; Wang et al., 2018b).…”