Harnessing the potential clinical use of medicinal plants as anti-diabetic agents

Abstract

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder arising from complex interactions between multiple genetic and/or environmental factors. The characteristic high blood sugar levels result from either lack of the hormone insulin (type 1 diabetes, T1D), or because body tissues do not respond to the hormone (type 2 diabetes, T2D). T1D patients currently need exogenous insulin for life, while for T2D patients who do not respond to diet and exercise regimes, oral anti-diabetic drugs (OADs) and sometimes insulin are administered to help keep their blood glucose as normal as possible. As neither the administration of insulin nor OADs is curative, many patients develop tissue degenerative processes that result in life-threatening diabetes comorbidities. Several surveys of medicinal plants used as anti-diabetic agents amongst different peoples have been published. Some of this interest is driven by the ongoing diabetes pandemic coupled with the inadequacies associated with the current state of-the-art care and management of the syndrome. However, there is a huge cleft between traditional medicine and modern (Western) medicine, with the latter understandably demanding meaningful and scientific validation of anecdotal evidence for acceptance of the former. The main problems for clinical evaluation of medicinal plants with promising anti-diabetic properties reside both with the complexity of components of the plant materials and with the lack of full understanding of the diabetes disease etiology. This review is therefore focused on why research activities involving an integration of Systems Biology-based technologies of pharmacogenomics, metabolomics, and bioinformatics with standard clinical data, should be used for cost-effective validation of the safety and anti-diabetic efficacy of promising medicinal plants. The application of such approaches to studying entire mixtures of plant materials will ensure proper elucidation of novel therapies with improved mechanisms of action, as well as facilitate a personalized clinical use of medicinal plants as anti-diabetic agents.

Antidiabetic Effect of Fenugreek Seed Powder Solution (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) on Hyperlipidemia in Diabetic Patients

“…Diabetic patients are at risk of chronic morbidity and premature mortality despite the assiduous use of the available drugs [19–21]. Due to these several side effects, there is a strong desire to use herbs or plants for treatment, due to less side effects, less toxic, and easier consumption or availability as well as low cost as compared to synthetic counterparts [22, 23]. Recently, many medicinal plants have demonstrated the potential for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and its complications.…”

“…Ancient literature, religious scripture, travel records, and anecdotes from different continents and from different periods of human history record a wide variety of medicinal properties associated with Trigonella foenum-graecum . Medicinal uses vary from wound healing to bust enhancement and from promotion of lactation in weaning mothers to its use as a sex stimulant or aphrodisiac [13, 20, 22]. The medicinal plants provide a useful source of oral antihyperglycemic bioactive compounds for the development of new pharmaceutical clues as well as a good source of dietary supplement to existing therapies.…”

In Vitro Modulation of Glibenclamide Transport by P-glycoprotein Inhibitory Antidiabetic African Plant Extracts

“…The use of herbal medicines as one of the aspects of traditional medicine practice is increasingly being promoted in developing countries as a means of meeting the unmet health care needs of the population [1]. As a result, many diabetic patients utilize herbal medicines as supplementation to their conventional medicines for their disease management.…”

Effects of water extractable phytochemicals of mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) and axlewood (Anogeissus leiocarpus) stem bark on some enzymes implicated in erectile dysfunction and type-2 diabetes

“…Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a disorder of biological macromolecules metabolism characterized by hyperglycemia that can be due to partial or complete cessation of insulin production and/or peripheral resistance to insulin action (Vigneri, Frasca, Sciacca, Pandini, & Vigneri, ). DM is often associated with increased risk of complications which include erectile dysfunction, ischemic heart disease, neuropathy, and ulceration (Campbell‐Tofte, Molgaard, & Winther, ). Different mechanisms have been put forward as link between DM and ED which include microangiopathy of the cavernosal artery and corporal veno‐occlusive dysfunction among others (Hakim & Goldstein, ).…”