Therapeutic potential of Aloe vera in diabetes mellitus treatment: an update

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease manifested by hyperglycemia, leading to critical health challenges in the kidneys, eyes, nerves, and cardiovascular system. Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis miller), a traditionally used herbal plant for treating various diseases, contains abundant bioactive compounds like alkaloids, flavonoids, acemannans, anthraquinones, chromones, anthrones, enzymes, vitamins, and minerals. These compounds are responsible for its diverse biological activities, including antimicrobial, anticancer, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and hypolipidemic etc. This review primarily focuses on diabetes treatment through enzyme inhibition and modulation of metabolic parameters, with additional emphasis on diabetic complications including, the wound healing efficacy of Aloe vera. This study aims to evaluate the potential of Aloe vera in managing diabetes and minimizing the chances of diabetes-related organ damage. It was done by inhibition of several enzymes, including α-glucosidase, α-amylase, dipeptidyl peptidase-4, pancreatic lipase, sucrase, and maltase enzymes, both in vivo and in vitro. The previous research revealed that administrating various doses of Aloe vera-based extracts via orally and non-orally routes in streptozotocin-induced diabetes offered metabolic regulation of signaling pathways like blood sugar, insulin, lipid profile, body weight, oxidative stress, TNF-α, and IL-6 levels. Moreover, clinical data have confirmed Aloe vera's potential in diabetic wound healing by promoting tissue regeneration mechanisms like angiogenesis, fibrinogenesis, collagen synthesis, and inflammation to reduce lesion size. These therapeutic properties highlight the hypoglycemic nature of Aloe vera, promising its potential for future clinical use as an alternative for diabetes treatment.