Department of Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy and Public Health, Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), Dhaka 1229, Bangladesh.
School of Biomedical Sciences, Ulster University, Coleraine BT52 1SA, UK.
Nutrients. 2023 Jul 24;15(14):3266. doi: 10.3390/nu15143266.
Diabetes mellitus (DM) comprises a range of metabolic disorders characterized by high blood glucose levels caused by defects in insulin release, insulin action, or both. DM is a widespread condition that affects a substantial portion of the global population, causing high morbidity and mortality rates. The prevalence of this major public health crisis is predicted to increase in the forthcoming years. Although several drugs are available to manage DM, these are associated with adverse side effects, which limits their use. In underdeveloped countries, where such drugs are often costly and not widely available, many people continue to rely on alternative traditional medicine, including medicinal plants. The latter serves as a source of primary healthcare and plant-based foods in many low- and middle-income countries. Interestingly, many of the phytochemicals they contain have been demonstrated to possess antidiabetic activity such as lowering blood glucose levels, stimulating insulin secretion, and alleviating diabetic complications. Therefore, such plants may provide protective effects that could be used in the management of DM. The purpose of this article was to review the medicinal plant-based foods traditionally used for the management of DM, including their therapeutic effects, pharmacologically active phytoconstituents, and antidiabetic mode of action at the molecular level. It also presents future avenues for research in this field.
糖尿病（DM）是一组代谢紊乱的疾病，其特征是由于胰岛素分泌、胰岛素作用或两者同时出现缺陷导致的高血糖水平。DM 是一种广泛存在的疾病，影响了全球相当一部分人口，导致高发病率和死亡率。预计未来几年这种主要公共卫生危机的患病率将会增加。尽管有几种药物可用于治疗 DM，但这些药物都存在不良副作用，限制了它们的使用。在欠发达国家，这些药物通常昂贵且供应不足，许多人仍然依赖替代传统医学，包括药用植物。这些药用植物在许多低收入和中等收入国家既是初级保健的来源，也是植物性食物的来源。有趣的是，它们所含的许多植物化学物质已被证明具有抗糖尿病活性，如降低血糖水平、刺激胰岛素分泌和缓解糖尿病并发症。因此，这些植物可能具有保护作用，可用于 DM 的治疗。本文的目的是综述传统上用于治疗 DM 的药用植物性食品，包括它们的治疗效果、具有药理活性的植物化学成分以及在分子水平上的抗糖尿病作用机制。它还提出了该领域未来的研究方向。
