A peptide hormone made by pancreatic islet ß-cells that regulates the blood glucose levels in the body as well as metabolism of protein and fats.
Published in Chapter:
Medical Herbs and the Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus: Mechanisms of Action
Donovan Anthony McGrowder (Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Jamaica), Fabian G. Miller (Faculty of Education, The Mico University College, Jamaica), Chukwuemeka Nwokocha (Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Jamaica), Cameil F. Wilson-Clarke (Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Jamaica), Melisa Anderson (School of Allied Health and Wellness, College of Health Sciences, University of Technology, Jamaica), Lennox Anderson-Jackson (Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Jamaica), Lowen Williams (Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, The University of the West Indies, Jamaica), and Ruby Alexander-Lindo (Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Jamaica)
Copyright: © 2021
|Pages: 26
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-4808-0.ch003
Abstract
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disorder that affects millions of persons worldwide, and if uncontrolled may cause cardiovascular disease, retinopathy, or chronic kidney disease. Effective therapeutic management of diabetes mellitus involves the use of mainly oral hypoglycemic drugs whose mechanism of action includes improved insulin secretion, reduced insulin resistance, or increased glucose uptake. There is growing exploration of medicinal herbs as potential therapeutic sources for the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus and compared with conventional oral hypoglycemic drugs they have little or no side effects. The aim of this review is to provide up-to-date information on potential medicinal herbs that have demonstrated anti-hyperglycemic activity through either increased secretion of insulin from pancreatic β-cells, reduction of insulin resistance with subsequent increase in insulin sensitivity, or inhibition of intestinal glucose absorption via decreased α-glucosidase activity.