Herbal Therapies for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Chemistry, Biology, and Potential Application of Selected Plants and Compounds

Table 1

Active compounds and biological actions of antidiabetic herbs.

Herb	Compound name	Chemical structure	Antidiabetic mechanism(s)	References
G. uralensis	Amorfrutin 1		Regulate insulin resistance	[40]
	Amorfrutin 2
	Amorfrutin 3
	Amorfrutin 4
D. rhizome	Dioscorea polysaccharides	N.A.	Regulate insulin resistance	[41–44]
V. spp.	Phenolics and Anthocyanins	N.A.	Regulate insulin resistance	[45–47]
A. membranaceus	Astragalus polysaccharides	N.A.	Regulate insulin resistance	[48–51]
G. elata	Vanillin		Reduces insulin resistance	[52]
	4-hydroxybenzaldehyde
C. verum; C. zeylanicum; C. aromaticum	Cinnamaldehyde		Regulate insulin resistance	[53]
T. foenum-graecum	Diosgenin		Reduces insulin resistance.	[54, 55]
	Galactomannan		Reduces insulin resistance	[55]
	Trigoneoside Xa
	Trigoneoside Xb
	Trigoneoside XIb
	Trigoneoside XIIa
	Trigoneoside XIIb
	Trigoneoside XIIIa
	Trigoneoside Ia
	Trigoneoside Ib
	Trigoneoside Va
	4-hydroxyisoleucine
L. chinensis	Oligonol (mixture of compounds)	N.A.	Regulate insulin resistance	[56–58]
C. papaya; P. amaryllifolius	Flavonoids, alkaloids, saponin, and tannins	N.A.	Regulate β-cell function	[59]
T. divaricate; E. microphylla	Conophylline		Regulate β-cell function	[60–63]
A. roxburghii	Kinsenoside		Regulate β-cell function	[64]
N. stellata	Nymphayol		Regulate β-cell function	[65]
S. marianum	Silybin		Regulate β-cell function	[66–74]
	Silydianin
	Silychristin
B. pilosa	3-β-D-glucopyranosyl-1-hydroxy-6(E)-tetradecene-8,10,12-triyne		Regulate β-cell function	[75, 76]
	2-β-D-glucopyranosyloxy-1-hydroxy-5(E)-tridecene-7,9,11-triyne
	2-β-D-glucopyranosyloxy-1-hydroxytrideca-5,7,9,11-tetrayne (cytopiloyne)		Regulates β-cell function	[53]
G. sylvestre	No reported active compounds	N.A.	Regulate β-cell function	[77–79]
Dietary fibers from the roots of A. tequilana, Dasylirion spp. and so forth	Inulin/Raftilose		Regulate GLP-1 homeostasis	[80–82]
Olive oil	Monounsaturated fatty acids	N.A.	Regulate GLP-1 homeostasis	[83–86]
C. tinctorius	Serotonin derivatives		Regulate glucose absorption in the guts	[87]
L. japonica	Butyl-isobutyl-phthalate		Regulate glucose absorption in the guts	[88]
B. vulgaris	Berberine		Regulate two or more pathways (lower hyperglycemia, increase insulin resistance, pancreatic β-cell regeneration, and decrease lipid peroxidation)	[89–94]
M. charantia	Momordicin		Regulate two or more pathways (lower blood glucose due to their insulin-like chemical structures)	[38]
Capsicum plants	Capsaicin		Regulate two or more pathways (regulation of insulin resistance and probably β cells)	[95, 96]
P. ginseng	Ginsenoside Rb1; Ginsenoside Rb2; Ginsenoside Rc; Ginsenoside Rd; Ginsenoside Re; Ginsenoside Rf; Ginsenoside Rg1		Regulate two or more pathways (regulate β-cell function, improvement of insulin resistance)	[97, 98]
C. longa	Curcumin		Regulate two or more pathways (regulation of insulin resistance and β-cell function)	[99]
	Turmerin			[100]
I. paraguariensis	3,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid		Regulate two or more pathways (augmentation of GLP-1 production)	[101]
	Matesaponin 2
Z. officinale	Gingerol		Regulate two or more pathways (islet cell protection and increased insulin receptor signaling)	[102]
	Shogaol		Unclear but can elevate glucose uptake in response to insulin in muscles and adipose cells	[103]
C. sinensis	Epigallocatechin 3-gallate (EGCG)		Regulate two or more pathways (islet protection, increase in insulin secretion, decrease in insulin tolerance, decrease in gluconeogenesis and insulin-mimetic action)	[104–106]
I. okamurae	Diphlorethohydroxycarmalol		Regulate two or more pathways (α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitor)	[107]
G. max	Genistein		Regulate two or more pathways (preserves islet mass, activates protein kinase A (PKA) and extracellular-signal-regulated kinases (ERK) 1/2, activates AMPK, and reduces insulin sensitivity)	[95, 108–111]
	Glyceollin I
	Glyceollin II		Regulate two or more pathways (enhance GLP-1 secretion, improve insulin secretion, regulate β-cell function)	[112]
	Glyceollin III
A. linearis	Aspalathin		Regulate two or more pathways (insulin tolerance, β-cell function, and inhibition of α-glucosidase)	[113, 114]
	Rutin (quercetin-3-O-rutinoside)			[114–117]
A. vera	Aloeresin A		Regulate two or more pathways (suppression of α-glucosidase activity (gut glucose absorption) and insulin resistance)	[118]
Commonly found in plants, vegetables, and fruits	Quercetin		Regulate glucose absorption in guts.	[119, 120]
Commonly found in plants and fruits	Resveratrol		Regulate two or more pathways (activates AMPK and downstream molecules, prevents cell death of pancreatic β cells, and activates SIRT1)	[121–125]
Coffee	Quinides (e.g. (1R,3R,4S,5R)-3,4-diferuloyl-1,5-quinide)*		Regulate two or more pathways	[126, 127]

N.A.: not applicable.
∗Quinides are derived from chlorogenic acid during roasting.