Antidiabetic plant-derived nutraceuticals: a critical review.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the major
health problems in the world, especially amongst the urban
population. Chemically synthesized drugs used to decrease
the ill effects of DM and its secondary complications cause
adverse side effects, viz., weight gain, gastrointestinal
disturbances, and heart failure. Currently, various other
approaches, viz., diet control, physical exercise and use of
antidiabetic plant-derived molecules/foods are advocated to
manage DM, as they are economical with fewer or no side
effects. This review mainly focuses on antidiabetic plants,
chemically characterized plant molecules and plant-based
foods in the treatment of DM. Very little science-based
evidence is available on the mechanism of action of plantderived
food molecules on the DM targets. Critical DM
targets include α-amylase, α-glucosidase, DPP-IV, aldose
reductase, PPAR-γ, AMP kinase and GLUT4. In-depth
studies carried out on a few of those targets with specific
mechanisms of action are addressed in this review. This
review may help future researchers in identifying a right
plant molecule to treat DM or to develop food formulations
for DM management.