Reactive oxygen species linked diabetes mellitus management by natural products: A Pre-clinical study in rat

Abstract

The environment has a great impact on health maintenance. Environmental stress factors generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) in
our bodies. As a result, pro-oxidant status of our body is dominated over the antioxidant status that induces health disorders. Diabetes
mellitus (DM), a common metabolic cum lifestyle disease, is now considered as X syndrome. Environmental stressors through ROS
generation can impose point mutation for the production of mutant enzymes, leading to cellular metabolic disorders, especially
carbohydrate metabolism, an important cause of diabetes. Moreover, free radicals through cellular signaling system down-regulate
gene expression of antioxidant enzymes that produce high levels of cellular free radicals in metabolic organs, which may lead to DM.
Natural products with strong antioxidant activities have a major role in managing diabetes. Nutraceuticals in E. jumbulana, Camellia
sinensis, H. antidysenterica majorly contribute to such management by increasing gene expression of antioxidant enzymes and
carbohydrate metabolic enzymes that favor glucose utilization in cell. It has also been established that such nutraceuticals can generate β cells from hepatic stem cells, so plasma insulin and c-peptide levels are elevated. Insulin receptor gene expression is also corrected by such nutraceuticals in diabetic model animals. The efficacy of such nutraceuticals is comparable with antidiabetic gold standard drugs. Such studies have been confirmed by genomics and proteomics studies using real-time PCR followed by western blotting studies. This field of research unfolds a new domain known as ‘Neutrogenomics’ in health science.
It is concluded that natural products may be the parallel management process of modern therapy as per the guideline of WHO.