Antidiabetic Phytocompounds Acting as Glucose Transport Stimulators

The present study aimed to provide summarized data related to the phytocompouds improving glucose uptake in the diabetic state.

Glucose uptake in peripheral tissues such as skeletal muscle and adipose tissue is considered as an important step in the regulation of glucose homeostasis. Reducing high blood glucose levels in diabetic patients via targeting peripheral glucose uptake is a promising strategy to develop new antidiabetic medications derived from natural products.

The current review focused on antidiabetic natural phytocompounds acting on glucose uptake in adipocytes and skeletal muscles to highlight their phytochemistry, the mechanistic pathway involved, toxicity, and clinical assessment.

A systematic search was conducted in the scientific database with specific keywords on natural phytocompounds demonstrated to possess glucose uptake stimulating activity in vitro or ex vivo during the last decade.

In total, 195 pure molecules and 7 mixtures of inseparable molecules isolated from the plants kingdom, in addition to 16 biomolecules derived from non-herbal sources, possess a potent glucose uptake stimulating capacity in adipocytes and/or skeletal muscles in adipocytes and/or skeletal muscles in vitro or ex vivo. Molecular studies revealed that these plant-derived molecules induced glucose uptake via increasing GLUT-4 expression and/or translocation through insulin signaling pathway, AMPK pathway, PTP1B activity inhibition or acting as partial PPARγ agonists. These phytocompounds were isolated from 91 plants, belonging to 57 families and triterpenoids are the most sous-class of secondary metabolites showing this activity. Among all the phytocompounds listed in the current review, only 14 biomolecules have shown an interesting activity against diabetes and its complications in clinical studies.

Epicatechin, catechin, epigallocatechin 3-gallate, quercetin, quercetin 3-glucoside, berberine, rutin, linoleic acid, oleanolic acid, oleic acid, chlorogenic acid, gallic acid, hesperidin, and corosolic acid are promising phytocompounds that showed great activity against diabetes and diabetes complications in vitro and in vivo. However, for the others phytocompounds further experimental studies followed by clinical trials are needed. Finally, foods rich in these compounds cited in this review present a healthy diet for diabetic patients.