quinta-feira, 18 de dezembro de 2014

Therapeutic Phytogenic Compounds for Obesity and Diabetes - I


Figure 1. Effects of phytogenic compounds on diabetes and obesity. Possible outcome of phytogenic compounds as potential candidates for development of obesity and diabetes treatments are illustrated. 

Abstract

Natural compounds have been used to develop drugs for many decades. Vast diversities and minimum side effects make natural compounds a good source for drug development. However, the composition and concentrations of natural compounds can vary. Despite this inconsistency, half of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved pharmaceuticals are natural compounds or their derivatives. Therefore, it is essential to continuously investigate natural compounds as sources of new pharmaceuticals. This review provides comprehensive information and analysis on natural compounds from plants (phytogenic compounds) that may serve as anti-obesity and/or anti-diabetes therapeutics. Our growing understanding and further exploration of the mechanisms of action of the phytogenic compounds may afford opportunities for development of therapeutic interventions in metabolic diseases.

Conclusions

In this review, phytogenic compounds that affect obesity and diabetes have been discussed. While a simultaneous treatment for obesity and diabetes has been explored, no treatment is available. Obesity and diabetes shares some similarities that include inflammation and insulin resistance [128].

Due to unique characteristics of phytogenic compounds and similarities of obesity and diabetes, some phytogenic compounds may be used to develop treatment for both diseases. For example, extract of cinnamon can improve hyperglycemia and reduce body fat composition. Further investigations would provide support for the potential of cinnamon. Studies referred to in Section 3.3 were performed in different conditions and model systems. To verify the effect of the same compounds, identical experiments conducted with an animal model showing a phenotype of both obesity and diabetes, such as B6.Cg-Lepob/J and B6.BSK(D)-Lepdb/J mice, are needed. This mouse model has the physiology of both obesity and diabetes. Thus, it would be interesting to test if the phytogenic compounds mentioned in Section 3.3 could improve the phenotypes of obesity and diabetes. Although additional research is needed to confirm multiple aspects of the efficacy of phytogenic compounds, future studies on screening of phytogenic compounds adequate and effective for obesity and diabetes will contribute to the development of treatment options for these diseases.

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