Abstract
Insulin resistance is an abnormal physiological state that occurs when insulin from pancreatic β-cells is unable to trigger a signal transduction pathway in target organs such as the liver, muscles and adipose tissues. The loss of insulin sensitivity is generally associated with persistent hyperglycemia (diabetes), hyperinsulinemia, fatty acids and/or lipid dysregulation which are often prevalent under obesity conditions. Hence, insulin sensitizers are one class of drugs currently employed to treat diabetes and associated metabolic disorders. A number of natural products that act through multiple mechanisms have also been identified to enhance insulin sensitivity in target organs. One group of such compounds that gained interest in recent years are the dietary anthocyanins. Data from their in vitro, in vivo and clinical studies are scrutinized in this communication to show their potential health benefit through ameliorating insulin resistance. Specific mechanism of action ranging from targeting specific signal transduction receptors/enzymes to the general antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanisms of insulin resistance are presented.
Highlights
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) global obesity data show that, in 2014, more than1.9 billion adults (18 years and older) were overweight, of which over 600 million were considered obese [1]
There appear to be overwhelming in vitro and in vivo, and few clinical studies data to suggest that dietary anthocyanins could ameliorate insulin resistance and offer health benefits in diabetic conditions
One of the key features of their pharmacological effects appear to be linked to multiple mechanisms ranging from inhibiting carbohydrate digestion in the gut, pancreatic β-cell protection and insulin secretion to enhancing insulin sensitivity in vital organs
Summary
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) global obesity data show that, in 2014, more than. Diabetes is a major cause of disabilities (e.g., blindness and limb amputation), other diseases (e.g., kidney failure and cardiovascular diseases including heart attack and stroke) and death In the latter case, the WHO estimate for the year 2012 was about 1.5 million deaths directly by diabetes and another 2.2 million deaths related to high blood glucose [2]. Central to glucose metabolism is the secretion of insulin by pancreatic β cells following the postprandial excess in the blood, leading to its mobilization and storage in target organs such as the liver, muscles and adipose tissues. Persistent hyperglycemia (diabetes), hyperinsulinemia, fatty acids dysregulation (e.g., hyperlipidemia) can lead to insulin resistance [4,8] In this context, this review is addressing the potential insulin resistance modulatory effect of dietary natural products collectively called anthocyanins. Considering the various side effects of the clinically useful anti-diabetic drugs, the search for novel anti-diabetic agents from natural sources including multifunctional flavonoids is currently gaining a lot of attention [11,12,13,14]
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