Role of Natural Agents in the Management of Diabetes
Rohit Dutt, Anil K. Sharma, Raj K. Keservani, Vandana Garg in Promising Drug Molecules of Natural Origin, 2020
Galega officinalis is a leguminous plant, which aerial parts have long been used in traditional and folk medicine to treat diabetes in Chile, Japan as well as Europe (Bailey and Day, 2004; Gunn and Farnsworth, 2013; Rios et al., 2015). This herb consists of two nitrogen guanidine constituents: galegin (syn. galegine) as isoamylene guanidine and hydroxygalegine prevalent in all parts during flowering and forming fruits. These bioactive substances possess pharmacological features as hypoglycemic and galactogenic factors. However, guanidine is excessively toxic for clinical treat; hence, the study focused on galegine, which turned out to be less toxic as an extract of G. officinalis. In the 1920s, the extract was specified as an antidiabetic formulation (Bailey and Day, 2004; Martínez-Larrañaga and Martínez, 2018).
Increasing the Sensitivity of Adipocytes and Skeletal Muscle Cells to Insulin
Christophe Wiart in Medicinal Plants in Asia for Metabolic Syndrome, 2017
Ethanol extract of fruits of Terminalia pallida Brandis given at a single oral dose of 0.5 g/kg to alloxan-induced diabetic Wistar rats reduced fasting glycemia by 18.6% after 5 hours of treatment.105 In normal rats, no decrease in glycemic was observed.105 Adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase is activated by the antidiabetic drug metformin via LKB1.106 This biguanide developed from Galega officinalis L. (family Fabaceae) activates adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase. It does not affect glycemia of normal subjects because increase in peripheral glucose utilization is compensated by an increase in hepatic glucose output.107 One could suggest that Terminallia pallida Brandis contains some tannins which upon gut bacterial flora metabolism and first-pass metabolism release phenolic entities with activities related to increased uptake of glucose by skeletal muscles.
Managing Diabetes without Weight Gain
David Heber, Zhaoping Li in Primary Care Nutrition, 2017
French lilac, or goat’s rue (Galega officinalis), was used as a folk remedy for diabetes in southern and eastern Europe during medieval times (White and Campbell 2008). In the early twentieth century, the glucose-lowering compound in this plant, guanidine, was isolated and synthesized (Frank et al. 1926). It was named Synthalin in Germany and used to treat diabetes during the 1920s (Galloway 1988). These early drugs were toxic to the liver, and their use ended with the discovery of insulin. However, in the 1960s and 1970s, drugs modified to reduce toxicity included the biguanide drugs phenformin in the United States, metformin in France, and buformin in Germany (Alberti et al. 1997). Phenformin and buformin were associated with lactic acidosis, especially in elderly individuals with reduced renal function. Metformin, first introduced in 1959, was approved in the United States in the 1990s. Metformin is the most widely used glucose-lowering drug in the world (White and Campbell 2008).
Effects of testicular sperm aspiration upon first cycle ICSI-ET for type 2 diabetic male patients
Published in Systems Biology in Reproductive Medicine, 2020
Xiang Liu, Ming Gao, Jianhua Sun, Zheng Sun, Juan Song, Xia Xue, Zhou Zhang, Juanzi Shi, Junping Xing
Drugs are a common method of treating diabetes. Metformin is a biguanide compound isolated from Galega officinalis. It promotes the uptake of glucose by peripheral tissues and delays the absorption of glucose in the intestine, thereby reducing blood sugar. However, there is no consensus on whether metformin can improve or reduce male reproductive function. Some researchers found that sperm density and vitality could be improved after a 6-month study of metformin in the treatment of metabolic syndrome in patients with oligo-terato-male azoospermia (Morgante et al. 2011). In addition, it has also been reported that the normal sperm morphology of men with hyperinsulinemia can be improved after 3 months of metformin treatment (Bosman et al. 2014). However, other research provides an opposite conclusion that metformin not only does not improve sperm quality but also reduces sperm motility and even interferes with the normal testicular physiological process, resulting in spermatogenesis failure and obvious histological changes (Adaramoye et al. 2012; Tartarin et al. 2012; Calle-Guisado et al. 2018). Calle-Guisado et al. (2018) consider that the reason for drawing the opposite conclusion is due to the differences in the research methods and testing instruments. Obviously, the safety of diabetic drugs on male reproductive capacity needs further research. Standardizing the research population, refining the dosage of drugs, unifying the medication methods and evaluation methods can help draw more reliable conclusions.
Metformin combats obesity by targeting FTO in an m6A-YTHDF2-dependent manner
Published in Journal of Drug Targeting, 2022
Xing Liao, Jiaqi Liu, Yushi Chen, Youhua Liu, Wei Chen, Botao Zeng, Yuxi Liu, Yaojun Luo, Chaoqun Huang, Guanqun Guo, Yizhen Wang, Xinxia Wang
Recently, more and more studies demonstrated that metformin, first discovered due to the usage of Galega officinalis as an herbal medicine in medieval Europe [5], owned the anti-obesity functions except for its antihyperglycemic properties [6–8]. For instance, it was reported that metformin could lower body weight in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice by upregulating circulation of growth/differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) [9] and ameliorate obesity-related inflammation by modulating macrophage polarisation to M2 phenotype [10]. While in 3T3-L1 cells, metformin was shown to inhibit adipogenesis by activating adenosine 5′-monophosphate-activate protein kinase (AMPK) [11], lowering gene expressions of Cebpa and Fabp4 [12] and enhancing the anti-adipogenic effects of atorvastatin via regulation of signal transducer and activator of transcriptional (STAT) 3 and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β)/Smad3 pathway [13]. However, the underlying mechanisms of metformin’s anti-obesity effect were not comprehensively elucidated.
Clinical trials with plants in diabetes mellitus therapy: a systematic review
Published in Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology, 2021
Diorge Jonatas Marmitt, Mohamad Hesam Shahrajabian, Márcia Inês Goettert, Claudete Rempel
major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke, and lower limb amputation. Its consequences can be treated through avoid or delay in diet, physical activity, medication and regular screening and treatment for complications [101,102]. The metformin (obtained from Galega officinalis L. – Fabaceae) remains the preferred first-line therapy for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. However, the addition of a Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analog is suggested in patients with a contraindication or intolerance to metformin, in patients with the HbA1c greater than 1.5% over limit, as well as patients with heart failure, atherosclerosis or chronic kidney disease [18]. GLP-1 agonists drugs as exenatide, lixisenatide, liraglutide, albiglutide, dulaglutide, and semaglutide, represents a class of medications used in the treatment of T2DM in adults. This form of therapy can decrease pancreatic beta-cell apoptosis while promoting their proliferation, besides include delayed gastric emptying and inhibiting the production of glucagon from pancreatic alpha cells if blood sugar levels are high [103]. In parallel, the latest class of anti-hyperglycemic agents to receive Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval is Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors. The function is through a novel mechanism of reducing renal tubular glucose reabsorption, producing a reduction in blood glucose without stimulating insulin release. There are three SGLT2 selective inhibitors approved by FDA for DM therapy: dapagliflozin, canagliflozin, and empagliflozin. Empagliflozin has the greatest selectivity for SGLT2, while canagliflozin is the least selective [104].
Related Knowledge Centers
- Diabetes
- Diuretic
- Fabaceae
- Flavone
- Metformin
- Ruta Graveolens
- Glycoside
- Galegine
- Blood Sugar Level
- Herbal Medicine