Network pharmacology analysis of pharmacological mechanisms underlying the anti-type 2 diabetes mellitus effect of guava leaf

Strictosamide promotes wound healing through activation of the PI3K/AKT pathway

Nauclea officinalis, as a Chinese medicine in Hainan province, had the effect of treating lower limb ulcers, burn infections. In this paper, we studied the effect of Strictosamide (STR), the main bioactive compound in Nauclea officinals, on wound healing and explored its internal mechanism. Firstly, the wound healing potential of STR was evaluated in a rat model, demonstrating its ability to expedite wound healing, mitigate inflammatory infiltration, and enhance collagen deposition. Additionally, immunofluorescence analysis revealed that STR up-regulated the expression of CD31 and PCNA. Subsequently, target prediction, protein-protein interaction (PPI), gene ontology (GO), and pathway enrichment analyses were used to obtain potential targets, specific biological processes, and molecular mechanisms of STR for the potential treatment of wound healing. Furthermore, molecular docking was conducted to predict the binding affinity between STR and its associated targets. Additionally, in vivo and in vitro experiments confirmed that STR could increase the expression of P-PI3K, P-AKT and P-mTOR by activating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. In summary, this study provided a new explanation for the mechanism by which STR promotes wound healing through network pharmacology, suggesting that STR may be a new candidate for treating wound.

Taraxasterol Inhibits Hepatic Gluconeogenesis and Increases Glycogen Synthesis via the PI3K/Akt Signaling Pathway

Objective: Taraxasterol (TS) is the main active compound of Taraxacum, which plays a significant role in the treatment of diabetes in many classic prescriptions. However, the mechanisms of TS in the treatment of diabetes remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the underlying mechanism of TS in hepatic gluconeogenesis and glycogen synthesis in HepG2 cells with insulin resistance (IR). Methods: Molecular docking was conducted by using Discovery Studio (DS) to predict the target of TS in the treatment of diabetes. Then we treated HepG2 cells with glucosamine for 18 h. After the cells were treated with TS, the glucose consumption was examined. Oil red O staining was used to detect the lipid accumulation of HepG2 cells, and cellular glucose uptake levels were assessed using fluorescent 2-(N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl) amino)-2-deoxy-D-glucose. The expression of the related proteins of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in the HepG2 cells was evaluated by western blot assay. Results: The molecular docking analysis revealed a good binding pose between the insulin receptor and TS. Furthermore, TS administration significantly enhanced glucose uptake and consumption, and reduced lipid accumulation in HepG2 cells with IR. The results of pharmacological mechanism study showed that TS up-regulated glycogenesis by PI3K/Akt/GSK3-motivated GS activation, and down-regulated gluconeogenesis by PI3K/Akt/FoxO1 expression of PEPCK and G6Pase in HepG2 cells with IR. Conclusions: Molecular docking and in vitro experimental results indicate that TS suppresses hepatic gluconeogenesis and augments glycogen synthesis by the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, and it may have similar effects as insulin in regulating blood glucose.

Heterocyclic compounds as a magic bullet for diabetes mellitus: a review

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major metabolic disorder due to hyperglycemia, which is increasing all over the world. From the last two decades, the use of synthetic agents has risen due to their major involvement in curing of chronic diseases including DM. The core skeleton of drugs has been studied such as thiazolidinone, azole, chalcone, pyrrole and pyrimidine along with their derivatives. Diabetics assays have been performed in consideration of different enzymes such as α-glycosidase, α-amylase, and α-galactosidase against acarbose standard drug. The studied moieties were depicted in both models: in vivo as well as in vitro. Molecular docking of the studied compounds as antidiabetic molecules was performed with the help of Auto Dock and molecular operating environment (MOE) software. Amino acid residues Asp349, Arg312, Arg439, Asn241, Val303, Glu304, Phe158, His103, Lys422 and Thr207 that are present on the active sites of diabetic related enzymes showed interactions with ligand molecules. In this review data were organized for the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds through various routes along with their antidiabetic potential, and further studies such as pharmacokinetic and toxicology studies should be executed before going for clinical trials.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major metabolic disorder due to hyperglycemia, which is increasing all over the world.

A review on network pharmacology based phytotherapy in treating diabetes- An environmental perspective

Diabetes has become common lifestyle disorder associated with obesity and cardiovascular diseases. Environmental factors like physical inactivity, polluted surroundings and unhealthy dieting also plays a vital role in diabetes pathogenesis. As the current anti-diabetic drugs possess unprecedented side effects, traditional herbal medicine can be used an alternative therapy. The paramount challenge with the herbal formulation usage is the lack of standardized procedure, entangled with little knowledge on drug safety and mechanism of drug action. Heavy metal contamination is a major environmental hazard where plants tend to accumulate toxic metals like nickel, chromium and lead through industrial and agricultural activities. It becomes inappropriate to use these plants for phytotherapy as it may affect the human health on long term consumption. This review discuss about the environmental risk factors related to diabetes and better implication of medicinal plants in anti-diabetic therapy using network pharmacology. It is an in silico analytical tool that helps to unravel the multi-targeted action of herbal formulations rich in secondary metabolites. Also, a special focus is attempted to pool the databases regarding the medicinal plants for diabetes and associated diseases, their bioactive compounds, possible diabetic targets, drug-target interaction and toxicology reports that may open an aisle in safer, effective and toxicity-free drug discovery.