Traditional Medicinal Herbs for the Management of Diabetes and its Complications: An Evidence-Based Review

Abstract

A B S T R A C T Diabetes mellitus is a complex metabolic disease associated with impaired insulin secretion, developing insulin resistance as well as β-cell dysfunction, that leads to abnormal glucose, protein and lipid metabolism, inflammatory responses and oxidative damages. Traditional medicines suggest a wide range of remedies for the management of symptomatologies associated with chronic disorders including diabetes mellitus. The aim of the present study is to elicit the most popular traditionally used medicinal plants for diabetes and review literatures in order to scientifically evaluate their efficacy and safety in diabetes mellitus and its complications. In addition, their molecular and cellular mechanisms of action along with active phytochemical agents were highlighted. The findings demonstrated that traditional herbal remedies perform their antidiabetic potential through different cellular and molecular mechanisms, including enhancing insulin secretion, regeneration of pancreatic β-cell, improving insulin resistance, α-glucosidase enzyme inhibitory activity and anti-inflammatory effects as well as attenuating diabetes associated oxidative stress. Suppressing hepatic glucose output and enhancing glucose uptake as key contributors in antidiabetic effect of natural remedies are mediated via stimulating glycolysis, glucose oxidation and glycogenesis, along with reducing glycogen degradation and gluconeogenesis. Since traditional natural remedies are commonly used by diabetic patients, interaction between herbs and conventional antidiabetics has also been highlighted in this study. Overall, traditional herbal remedies are possible antihyperglycemic therapeutic adjuncts and potential source of new orally active agent(s) for management of diabetes; however, more well-designed clinical trials are suggested to recognize higher levels of evidence for the confirmation of their efficacy and safety.

16S rRNA Sequencing and Metagenomics Study of Gut Microbiota: Implications of BDB on Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

“…In recent years, the rapid development of high-throughput sequencing technology provides a new way to better understand the gut microbiota. T2DM is a complex of metabolic disorders, including lipid, protein, and carbohydrate metabolic abnormalities [2]. Previous and present studies demonstrated that 7-week oral administration of BDB significantly decreased the blood glucose levels, suggesting an anti-diabetes effect.…”

“…Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), which is the most common type of diabetes, is characterized by insulin resistance, insulin deficiency, or β-cell failure [1,2]. The development and occurrence of T2DM are mostly related to obesity, family history, and diet [3].…”

Medicinal plants in management of diabetes mellitus: an overview

“…Natural products derived from medicinal plants play an important role as useful tools in pharmacological studies in the management of diabetes mellitus (Farzaei et al, 2015). Researchers have proved that the antidiabetic activity of medicinal plants is due to the presence of phenolic compounds, flavonoids, terpenoids, coumarins and other ingredients which demonstrate hypoglycaemic activity (Aswathy and Jessykutty, 2017).…”

Protective effect of the isolated oligosaccharide from Rosa canina in STZ‐treated cells through modulation of the autophagy pathway

“…The conventional therapeutic options for treatment of DM exhibit insufficient efficacy and can result in several adverse effects including weight gain, hypoglycemia, as well as liver and kidney toxicity. Therefore, discovering new hypoglycemic agents with few side effects and desired potency is necessary to counteract insulin resistance (Farzaei, Morovati, Farjadmand, & Farzaei, 2017; Farzaei, Rahimi, Farzaei, & Abdollahi, 2015).…”