article · Natural Product Communications
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disorder characterised by elevated blood glucose caused by deficient insulin production or impaired insulin action. Historically, many cultures have relied on medicinal plants to manage the condition. Various plant-derived chemicals, including flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, and glycosides, demonstrate significant antidiabetic properties. These compounds manage glucose levels through mechanisms such as enhancing insulin secretion, increasing insulin sensitivity, inhibiting glucose uptake in the gastrointestinal tract, and regulating carbohydrate metabolism. Evidence spans laboratory studies, animal models, and human trials assessing both efficacy and safety. Certain substances, including allicin and polypeptide-p, have reached bedside use, whilst demethoxycurcumin, trigonelline, and ginsenosides have progressed to clinical trials. Others, such as bisdemethoxycurcumin, vicine, and gymnemosides, remain in preclinical stages. Incorporating these natural compounds into standard therapies could potentially improve clinical outcomes, lower reliance on conventional drugs, and minimise adverse side effects.
Conventional diabetes therapies can cause adverse side effects and may create long-term drug dependence. Validating medicinal plant extracts offers an alternative or complementary route to metabolic control. Identifying how specific natural compounds regulate glucose absorption, insulin production, and metabolism helps healthcare systems discover safer, accessible treatments that can improve long-term patient outcomes across diverse populations.
The findings outline therapeutic applications for pharmaceutical developers seeking plant-based antidiabetic formulations. Development stages vary widely across identified compounds, creating distinct commercial horizons. Several agents, such as allicin and polypeptide-p, are already deployed in bedside clinical use, while compounds like demethoxycurcumin and trigonelline are advancing through clinical trials. Other candidates, including vicine and gymnemosides, represent earlier preclinical research opportunities requiring further laboratory validation before entering commercial pharmaceutical pipelines.
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Diabetes mellitus is a long-term metabolic condition marked by chronically high levels of glucose in the blood due to insufficient synthesis of insulin or impaired insulin function. Throughout history, several civilizations have used traditional medicinal plants to treat and control diabetes. This paper offers a thorough review, to date, of the antidiabetic natural compounds of medicinal plants origin, specifically highlighting their reported modes or mechanisms of action and therapeutic possibilities, with a view to fast-tracking the possibility of their transition to pharmaceutical products for human use. Phytochemicals such as flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, and glycosides have notable antidiabetic effects. They have been shown to control blood glucose levels via many processes, including boosting insulin secretion, improving insulin sensitivity, blocking glucose absorption in the \gastrointestinal-tract, and regulating carbohydrate metabolism. Unlike earlier reviews, this current one, in addition to the chemistry and proposed mechanisms of action, also x-rays the effectiveness and safety of these natural chemicals by combining evidences from laboratory research, animal experiments, and clinical trials. Several substances, such as Demethoxycurcumin, Trigonelline, and Ginsenosides, have progressed to clinical trials, while others like Allicin and Polypeptide-p have been used at the bedside. Several substances, including Bisdemethoxycurcumin, Vicine, and Gymnemosides, are now in the preclinical trial phase, suggesting that research is still ongoing and there is promise for their future medicinal application. The review highlights the evolution of chemicals in diabetes management, highlighting their potential to improve treatment. It suggests incorporating plant-derived compounds into traditional treatments, reducing dependence on drugs and reducing adverse effects.
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DOI: 10.1177/1934578x251323393
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