Curcumin and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Prevention and Treatment

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is an ensemble of metabolic diseases that has reached pandemic dimensions all over the world. The multifactorial nature of the pathology makes patient management, which includes lifelong drug therapy and lifestyle modification, extremely challenging. It is well known that T2DM is a preventable disease, therefore lowering the incidence of new T2DM cases could be a key strategy to reduce the global impact of diabetes. Currently, there is growing evidence on the efficacy of the use of medicinal plants supplements for T2DM prevention and management. Among these medicinal plants, curcumin is gaining a growing interest in the scientific community. Curcumin is a bioactive molecule present in the rhizome of the Curcuma longa plant, also known as turmeric. Curcumin has different pharmacological and biological effects that have been described by both in vitro and in vivo studies, and include antioxidant, cardio-protective, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, nephro-protective, anti-neoplastic, hepato-protective, immunomodulatory, hypoglycaemic and anti-rheumatic effects. In animal models, curcumin extract delays diabetes development, improves β-cell functions, prevents β-cell death, and decreases insulin resistance. The present review focuses on pre-clinical and clinical trials on curcumin supplementation in T2DM and discusses the peculiar mechanisms by which curcumin might ameliorate diabetes management.

Dietary Supplementation with Curcumin Reduce Circulating Levels of Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3β and Islet Amyloid Polypeptide in Adults with High Risk of Type 2 Diabetes and Alzheimer’s Disease

“…Moreover, presence of IR accelerates the formation of Neuritic plaques which are involved in the pathogenic process of AD [45]. Curcumin has repeatedly demonstrated efficacy in regard to improving insulin resistance [15]. Curcumin treatment reduced both serum insulin and insulin resistance (measured via HOMA2-IR).…”

“…Curcumin is a bio-active curcuminoid, extracted from the rhizomes of turmeric with a wide range of pharmacological properties including the ability to reduce inflammation, oxidative stress and insulin resistance [12][13][14]. In vivo studies in animal models [13] and a few clinical trials [15] have shown beneficial effects of curcumin on insulin resistance. Systematic reviews have provided strong evidence for investigating curcumin efficacy for management of type 2 diabetes mellitus [15].…”

“…In vivo studies in animal models [13] and a few clinical trials [15] have shown beneficial effects of curcumin on insulin resistance. Systematic reviews have provided strong evidence for investigating curcumin efficacy for management of type 2 diabetes mellitus [15]. Substantial in vitro data are available on the anti-oxidant anti-inflammatory activities of curcumin, suggesting a possible link to its protective effect on dementia and AD [16].…”

Dietary polyphenols as antidiabetic agents: Advances and opportunities

“…In animal models, curcumin and extracts rich in curcumin postpone diabetes development, protect beta‐cell, decrease insulin resistance, regulate lipid metabolism, reduce diabetic cardiomyopathy, attenuate testicular injury and oxidative stress (Jin et al., 2018; Pivari, Mingione, Brasacchio, & Soldati, 2019; Rashid, Chowdhury, Ghosh, & Sil, 2017; Zha et al., 2018), as well as ameliorate diabetic complications, such as liver disorders, adipocyte dysfunction, neuropathy, nephropathy, vascular diseases, and pancreatic disorders (Zhang, Fu, Gao, & Liu, 2013). Curcumin analogs with shortened central seven‐carbon chain hardly show hypoglycemic effects but potentially helpful for alleviating diabetes complications, whereas curcumin analogs preserving this chain reserve the hypoglycemic effects.…”

Curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, and bisdemethoxycurcumin induced caspase-dependent and –independent apoptosis via Smad or Akt signaling pathways in HOS cells

“…The three major chemical constituents and biological activities of turmeric were approximately 77% curcumin (CUR), 17% demethoxycurcumin (DMC), and 3% bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDMC), which are belong to curcuminoids [1,2]. Cur, a linear diarylheptanoid, is a natural phenolic compound and it has been well known and used to treat many diseases, such as cancer [3][4][5][6], diabetes [7,8], inflammation [1] and neurodegenerative disorders [9,10]. In spite of the potential health benefits of CUR, its clinical applications are limited due to its low oral bioavailability, low water solubility, and instability at acidic Ph [11,12].…”