Functional herbal food ingredients used in type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

From many reports it is clear that diabetes will be one of the major diseases in the coming years. As a result there is a rapidly increasing interest in searching new medicines, or even better searching prophylactic methods. Based on a large number of chemical and pharmacological research work, numerous bioactive compounds have been found in functional herbal food ingredients for diabetes. The present paper reviews functional herbal food ingredients with regards to their anti-diabetic active principles and pharmacological test results, which are commonly used in Asian culinary system and medical system and have demonstrated clinical or/and experimental anti-diabetic effectiveness. Our idea of reviewing this article is to give more attention to these functional food ingredients as targets medicinal foods in order to prevent or slow down the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Traditional Indian Medicines Used for the Management of Diabetes Mellitus

“…As per Ayurveda it is a miraculous plant used against a variety of problems including insect bites, intestinal worms, headache, and tumors [140]. Garlic is also used in folk medicine for the management of cardiac diseases, cancer, parasitic, fungal diseases, and diabetes [141, 142]. The principle bioactive components present in garlic are allicin, allixin, ajoene, and other organosulphur compounds.…”

Piperine, a Natural Bioenhancer, Nullifies the Antidiabetic and Antioxidant Activities of Curcumin in Streptozotocin-Diabetic Rats

“…The presence of biologically active ingredients explains the potential of functional foods in preventing and/or reducing the risk of diseases. Plant sterols, fibers, alkaloids, and polyphenols are examples of compounds found in the functional foods those posses a wide spectrum of biological activities against human diseases [10] , [11] . Curcumin is a polyphenol (diferuloylmethane), yellow pigment found in the rhizomes of turmeric ( Curcuma longa L.) that has been traditionally used as food flavoring.…”

Anthocyanins as Antidiabetic Agents—In Vitro and In Silico Approaches of Preventive and Therapeutic Effects

“…In MNT, carbohydrate counting, as well as glycemic index and glycemic load, the estimation of energy and nutrients requirements or recommendation for dietary fats and cholesterol and protein intakes, are some of the main components of a healthy diet planning in T2DM patients [ 112 , 113 ]. In recent years, the consumption of plant-based functional foods, rich in polyphenols, has also been suggested as a potentially complementary approach in the control of several aspects of T2DM and pre-T2DM patients, mainly due to their biological properties [ 114 , 115 , 116 , 117 ]. Functional food is a designation related to foods that beyond the basic nutritional functions, possess potential health benefits related to the prevention of several chronic diseases, due to biologically active ingredients [ 118 ].…”