Phytopharmacological Strategies in the Management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic disease which corresponds to 90% of the worldwide cases of diabetes, mainly due to epigenetic factors such as unhealthy lifestyles. First line therapeutic approaches are based on lifestyle changes, most of the time complemented with medication mostly associated with several side effects and high costs. As a result, the scientific community is constantly working for the discovery and development of natural therapeutic strategies that provide lower financial impact and minimize side effects. This review focus on these nature-based therapeutic strategies for prevention and control of T2DM, with a special emphasis on natural compounds that present pharmacological activity as dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4), alpha-amylase, alpha-glucosidase, lipase, and protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) inhibitors.

Keywords: alpha-amylase; alpha-glucosidase; dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4); lipase; phytopharmacology; protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B); type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Figure 1

Examples of chemical structures of some of the natural compounds with inhibitory activity against target enzymes in the prevention and control of T2DM. (a) theaflavin-3-gallate; (b) fucofuroeckol A; (c) triterpene oleanolic acid; (d) panclicins A; (e) percyquinnin; (f) mulberrofurans J; (g) isoderrone; (h) 3-bromo-4,5-Bis-(2,3-dibromo-4,5-dihydroxybenzyl) pyrocatechol; (i) resveratrol; (j) flavone; (k) kaempferol diglycoside.