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A closer look at the anti-diabetic properties of flavonoids found in traditional Chinese medicine

06/23/2020 // Evangelyn Rodriguez // Views

Tags: alternative medicine, anti-diabetes, Chinese medicine, diabetes cure, diabetes science, disease treatment, flavonoids, goodhealth, goodmedicine, goodscience, herbal medicine, Herbs, natural cures, natural medicine, phytonutrients, research, TCM

Researchers from China systematically summarized the results of studies on flavonoids from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with anti-diabetic properties. Their review was published in The American Journal of Chinese Medicine.

• Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a group of metabolic disorders marked by high blood sugar levels.
• Approximately four percent of people around the world suffer from DM.
• Due to the toxicity and side effects of oral or injectable hypoglycemic drugs, researchers have turned to natural products and TCM in search of new and safer alternative treatments.
• Flavonoids are widely distributed plant compounds that exhibit anti-diabetic and hypoglycemic properties. They also have the potential to treat diabetic complications.
• After searching different databases for studies on anti-diabetic flavonoids, the researchers identified 13 flavonoids from TCM herbs.
• Apigenin, baicalein and catechin are known to reduce blood glucose via their antioxidant activities.
• Hesperidin is good for diabetic neuropathy (DN), while Glycyrrhiza flavonoids have a significant effect on gestational DM.
• Quercetin can cross the blood-brain barrier and improve renal function, while kaempferol and puerarin can treat cardiomyopathy and prevent diabetic complications.
• Myricetin has shown potential as a natural treatment for DM and DN, while dinhydromyricetin is believed improve diabetes-induced cognitive impairment.

The researchers believe that the anti-diabetic effects of these TCM-derived flavonoids on humans should be explored by future studies to confirm their potency.

Journal Reference:

Bai L, Li X, He L, Zheng Y, Lu H, Li J, Zhong L, Tong R, Jiang Z, Shi J, et al. ANTIDIABETIC POTENTIAL OF FLAVONOIDS FROM TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE: A REVIEW. The American Journal of Chinese Medicine. 2019;47(05):933–957. DOI: 10.1142/s0192415x19500496

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