Abstract
Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder that majorly affects the endocrine gland, and it is symbolized by hyperglycemia and glucose intolerance owing to deficient insulin secretory responses and beta cell dysfunction. This ailment affects as many as 451 million people worldwide, and it is also one of the leading causes of death. In spite of the immense advances made in the development of orthodox antidiabetic drugs, these drugs are often considered not successful for the management and treatment of T2DM due to the myriad side effects associated with them. Thus, the exploration of medicinal herbs and natural products as therapeutic sources for the treatment of T2DM is promoted because they have little or no side effects. Bioactive molecules isolated from natural sources have been proven to lower blood glucose levels via regulating one or more of the following mechanisms: improvement of beta cell function, insulin resistance, glucose (re)absorption, and glucagon-like peptide-1 homeostasis. In recent times, the mechanisms of action of different bioactive molecules with antidiabetic properties and phytochemistry are gaining a lot of attention in the area of drug discovery. This review article presents an update of the findings from clinical research into medicinal plant therapy for T2DM.
Highlights
Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder depicted by hyperglycemia and glucose intolerance, which brings about defects of insulin secretion or insulin’s action to boost glucose uptake
High blood sugar levels and insulin resistance-induced fatty oxidation plays a key role in the onset and advancement of diabetic complications via increasing the flux of fructose-6-phosphate into the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway [76, 77]. This abnormal blood glucose level triggers the premature activation of some metabolic pathways, which in turn causes the usual expression of certain cytokines such as CTGF, intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), TGF-β, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1), which are involved in the development of lesion [78, 79]
Apigenin is a flavonoid derived from Chamomile tea, which has been revealed to decrease the creation of proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin 6 (IL-6), IL-1β, and TNF-α via modifying a myriad of signalling pathways in macrophages and as a result amending damage caused by a hyperglycemic state [272]
Summary
Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder depicted by hyperglycemia (elevated levels of blood glucose) and glucose intolerance, which brings about defects of insulin secretion or insulin’s action to boost glucose uptake This disorder causes a burden worldwide because of its high rate of morbidity, mortality, and higher health costs for management and treatment. The economic burden of diabetes in the Republic of South Africa per person per annum was approximately R 5000 in 2010 and R 26,743.69 in 2015 [6] This statistic only showed the cost effect of treating diabetes without addressing the cost of loss of manpower, since 60-80% of those suffering from this ailment belong to the working class and they die before the age of 60 [6]. This review investigates the link between oxidative stress and type 2 diabetes at both the cellular and molecular levels with the aim of putting forth experimental findings on the potential of phytochemicals in type 2 diabetes treatment
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