Key result
Herb-derived polysaccharides demonstrated beneficial effects in rodent models of metabolic diseases by improving glucose homeostasis and insulin resistance, though human clinical trials remain rare.
Why the study?
Herb-derived polysaccharides show beneficial effects in metabolic disease management, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear and human clinical trials remain rare.
Do herb-derived polysaccharides improve outcomes in metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and obesity?
Do herb-derived polysaccharides improve outcomes in metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and obesity?
Herb-derived polysaccharides show potential in managing metabolic diseases in rodent models, but high-quality human clinical trials are needed to validate their effectiveness and safety.
Metabolic diseases have become a public health problem worldwide. Effective, novel and natural therapies are urgently needed to treat metabolic diseases. As natural bioactive compounds, polysaccharides have many physiological and medicinal properties. Recently, herb-derived polysaccharides have shown beneficial effects in the treatment of metabolic diseases, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This review comprehensively summarizes the pharmacological progress and clinical evidence of herb-derived polysaccharides in the treatment of three metabolic diseases, namely type 2 diabetes mellitus, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and obesity, and more importantly, discusses the molecular mechanism involved. Existing evidence has proved that herb-derived polysaccharides can maintain glucose homeostasis, promote insulin secretion, improve insulin resistance, reduce weight gain and hepatic steatosis, inhibit lipogenesis, alleviate oxidative stress and inflammation, and improve gut microbiota disorders in rodents with metabolic diseases. Notably, so far, human clinical trials of herb-derived polysaccharides for these three metabolic diseases remain rare. All in all, herb-derived polysaccharides may have good potential as drug candidates for the prevention and management of metabolic diseases. More high-quality clinical trials are needed to further validate its effectiveness and safety in human subjects.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Xu et al. (2023) conducted a review in Metabolic diseases (type 2 diabetes mellitus, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and obesity). Herb-derived polysaccharides was evaluated. Herb-derived polysaccharides demonstrated beneficial effects in rodent models of metabolic diseases by improving glucose homeostasis and insulin resistance, though human clinical trials remain rare.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: