Macau Centre for Research and Development in Chinese Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macau 999078, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Sep 20;23(19):10988. doi: 10.3390/ijms231910988.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic metabolic disease, which is characterized by hyperglycemia, chronic insulin resistance, progressive decline in β-cell function, and defect in insulin secretion. It has become one of the leading causes of death worldwide. At present, there is no cure for T2DM, but it can be treated, and blood glucose levels can be controlled. It has been reported that diabetic patients may suffer from the adverse effects of conventional medicine. Therefore, alternative therapy, such as traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), can be used to manage and treat diabetes. In this review, glycyrrhizic acid (GL) and its derivatives are suggested to be promising candidates for the treatment of T2DM and its complications. It is the principal bioactive constituent in licorice, one type of TCM. This review comprehensively summarized the therapeutic effects and related mechanisms of GL and its derivatives in managing blood glucose levels and treating T2DM and its complications. In addition, it also discusses existing clinical trials and highlights the research gap in clinical research. In summary, this review can provide a further understanding of GL and its derivatives in T2DM as well as its complications and recent progress in the development of potential drugs targeting T2DM.
2 型糖尿病（T2DM）是一种慢性代谢性疾病，其特征为高血糖、慢性胰岛素抵抗、β细胞功能进行性下降和胰岛素分泌缺陷。它已成为全球主要死亡原因之一。目前，T2DM 无法治愈，但可治疗，可控制血糖水平。据报道，糖尿病患者可能会遭受常规药物的不良反应。因此，可使用替代疗法，如中药（TCM）来管理和治疗糖尿病。在本次综述中，甘草酸（GL）及其衍生物被认为是治疗 T2DM 及其并发症的有前途的候选药物。它是甘草的主要生物活性成分，甘草是一种 TCM。本次综述全面总结了 GL 及其衍生物在调节血糖水平和治疗 T2DM 及其并发症方面的治疗效果和相关机制。此外，还讨论了现有的临床试验并强调了临床研究中的研究空白。总之，本次综述可以进一步了解 GL 及其衍生物在 T2DM 及其并发症中的作用以及针对 T2DM 开发潜在药物的最新进展。
