Title:Therapeutic Potentials of Triterpenes in Diabetes and its Associated Complications
Volume: 16
Issue: 23
Author(s): Swathi Putta, Nagendra Sastry Yarla, Eswar Kumar Kilari, Challa Surekha, Gjumrakch Aliev, Madhihalli Basavaraju Divakara, Mysore Sridhar Santosh, Ramith Ramu, Farhan Zameer, Nagendra Prasad MN, Ramakrishna Chintala, Pidugu Vijaya Rao, Yallappa Shiralgi and Bhadrapura Lakkappa Dhananjaya
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Triterpenes, Diabetes, Blood glucose, Insulin, hyperglycemia.
Abstract: Diabetes is a major chronic metabolic disorder globally and around of 285 million people are affected by the
disease and the number is expected to double in the next two decades. The major focus of anti-diabetic therapies is to enhance
insulin production, sensitivity and/or reduce the blood glucose level. Although several synthetic drugs have been
developed as antidiabetic agents but their utility has been hampered due to their side effects and poor efficacy. In this scenario,
research on natural products has been gained importance due their safety profile in toxicity studies. Terpenoids belong
to an important class of natural products and several terpenoids have been reported as antidiabetic agents. Some of
them are under various stages of pre-clinical and clinical evaluation to develop them as antidiabetic agents. These agents
can inhibit enzymes responsible for the development of insulin resistance, normalization of plasma glucose and insulin
levels and glucose metabolism. Triterpenes can act as promising agents in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy, neuropathy
and nephropathy or in impaired wound healing by inhibiting several pathways involved in the diabetes and associated
complications. However, efforts in understanding the biological actions and clinical studies involving the applications of
triterpenes in treating diabetes are very limited. Hence, special attention is imperative to explore the therapeutic potential
of these compounds and provide new information to the scientific community. This review aims to provide the recent advances
in triterpenes chemistry, its derivatives, biological interventions and its therapeutic applications with special emphasis
on diabetes and its associated disorders.
