Tab 1.

Effects of traditional Chinese herbs on metabolic syndrome

Name	Plant	Extract	Effect	Mechanism	Model	Ref.
Aloe vera leaves	AloeveraL. Var.Chinens is (Haw.) Berger	Pulp extracts, ethanolic extract	FBG, TC, TG, FFA, hepatic transaminases, phospholipids ↓ Insulin ↑	Hydroperoxides, GSH ↓	T1DM (STZ) rats, T2DM rats	(118) (119) (120)
Cortex Cinnamoni	Cinnamomum zeylanicum	Bark extract, aqueous extract	FBG, insulin, protein-bound sugars, TC, TG ↓ HDL ↑	α-glycosidase ↓ Glucose uptake, insulin-signaling pathway in skeletal muscle ↑	Fructose-fed rats, T2DM patients, db/db mice	(121) (122) (123) (124) (125)
Crataegus	Crataegus cuneats Sieb. Et Zucc.	Alcoholic extract of fruit, aqueous extract of leaf	TC, TG, LDL, VLDL, lipid deposits in liver and aorta, FBG ↓		HFD rats, T1DM(STZ) rats	(126) (127)
Fructus Corni	Cornus officinalis Sieb. et Zucc.	Anthocyanin and ursolic acid, alcohol extract, oleanolic acid	Lipid accumulation in liver, TG, body weight, FBG ↓ Insulin, C-peptide ↑	Proliferation of islet and postprandial insulin, GLUT4 ↑	HFD mice, T2DM rats	(128) (129) (130)
Fructus Ligustri Lucidi	Ligustrum lucidum Ait.	Decoction	FBG ↓		T1DM (alloxan) mice	(131)
Fructus Lycii	Lycium barbarum L.	Decoction, polysaccharide fractions	Anti-oxidative, FBG, TC, TG, MDA ↓ HDL, SOD activity ↑		T1DM (STZ or alloxan) rats, T1DM (alloxan) rabbits	(132) (133) (134)
Ganoder ma Lucidum	Ganoderma Iucidum (Leyss.ex Fr.) Karst.	Polysaccharides, ganoderan B	TC, TG, LDL, LPO, fecal cholate, FBG ↓ Insulin, HDL, fecal TC, coprostanol ↑	Ca2+ inflow to the pancreaticβ cells, insulin-releasing, hepatic glucokinase, phosphofructokinase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase ↑ HMG-CoA reductase, hepatic glucose-6-phosphate, glycogen synthetase ↓ Antioxidation	HFD rats, hamsters and minipigs, T1DM (STZ or alloxan) mice	(135) (136) (137) (138) (139) (140)
Rhizoma Zingiberis	Zingiber officinale Roscoe	Aqueous extract, juice, ethanol extract, methanolic extract	FBG, TC, TG, blood pressure, body weight, LDL oxidation, atherosclerosis, LPO, lipoproteins, phospholipids ↓ Insulin, HDL, GSH-Px ↑		T1DM (STZ) rats, fructose fed rats, APOE-deficient mice, hyperlipidemic rats, cholesterol fed rabbits	(141) (142) (143) (144) (145) (146) (147) (148)
Radix Glycyrrhizae	Glycyrriza Uralensis Fisch.G.Glabra L.	Ethanolic extract, flavonoid oil	FBG, visceral adipose tissues, body weight ↓	Genes for β-oxidation, genes for fatty acid synthesis ↓ PPARγ ↑	KK-Ay mice, HFD mice	(149) (150) (151)
Radix Notoginseng	Panax notoginseng(Burk.)F.H. Chen	n-Butanol extract, pulverized root, ginsenoside Rg1	TC, TG, LDL, FBG ↓	Accumulation of abnormal lipid ↓ FXR/LXR α agonist	HFD or high-cholesterol fed rats, T1DM (alloxan) mice, APOE-deficient mice	(152) (153) (154) (155)
Radix Platycodi	Platycodon grandiflorum	Crude saponins, aqueous extract, platycodin saponin	TG, LDL, TG, liver surface fat pads, calorie intake, body weight ↓	Intestinal absorption of dietary fat ↓	Lipid emulsion fed rats, HFD mice, HFD rats	(156) (157) (158)
Pumpkin	Cucurbita moschata(Duch. ex Lam.) Duch. ex Poiret	Water extract, protein-bound polysaccharide	Fatty liver, TC, TG, FBG ↓ Glucose tolerance, insulin ↑	Lipid synthesis ↓ Fatty acid breakdown, hepatic β-oxidation ↑	HFD mice, T1DM(alloxan) rats	(159) (160)
Radix Astragaliseu Hedysari	Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bunge var. mongholicus (Bunge) Hsiao and Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bunge	Astragalus polysaccharide	FBG ↓ Insulin sensitivity, glucose-insulin tolerance, ACTH, glucagon, insulin ↑	PTP1B↓, insulin antagonistic hormones, Th1/Th2 cytokine ratio, apoptotic β cell percentage ↓ Glycogen synthesis, PPARγ, islet mass ↑	T1DM (STZ) mice and rats, TNF-α injected rats	(161) (162) (163)
Radix et Rhizom Rhei	Rheum palmatum L.	Aqueous extract and alcohol extract, wine steamed Radix et Rhizoma Rhei	FBG, LPO ↓ Oral glucose tolerance ↑	Insulin-stimulated glucose uptake ↑ α-glucoamylase ↓	APOE-deficient mice, T1DM (STZ) mice	(164) (155) (165)
Radix Puerariae	Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi.	Ethanol extract, puerarin	FBG, glycation products, insulin, abdominal fat, TC, TG, body mass ↓	Antioxidant enzymes, GLUT4 and intracellular insulin signaling, α-adrenoceptors on the adrenal gland, the secretion of β-endorphin, glucose utilization, β-endorphin-like imunoreactivity ↑ Aldose reductase ↓	D-galactose fed rats, T1DM (STZ) rats, rats with islet damage induced by hydrogen peroxide, HFD rats, ovariectomized rats	(166) (167) (168) (169) (170) (171) (172)
Radix Rehmanniae	Rehmannia glutinosa Libosch.		FBG, urea nitrogen, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, thiobarbituric acid reactive substance ↓		T1DM (STZ) rats after nephrectomy	(173)
Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae	Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge.		TG ↓	Bcl-2 protein, cerebral SOD↑ Cerebral MDA, LPO, Bax ↓	Four-vessel occlusion and reperfusion rats, APOE-deficient mice, high cholesterol diet fed rabbits	(174) (155) (175)
Rhizoma Polygonati	Polygonatum sibiricum Red.	Methanol extract	FBG ↓	Hepatic glucose output, GLUT2 ↓	KK-Ay mice, Wistar obese rats, T1DM (STZ) mice	(176) (177) (178) (179)
Rhizoma Polygonati Odorati	Polygonatum odoratum (Mill.) Druce	Water extract, asteroidal glycoside	FBG, TG, glycosylated hemoglobin ↓	α-glucosidase in digestive canal ↓ Whole body glucose disposal rates, glycogen, glycogen synthase ↑	Diabetic mice and rats, 90% pancreatectomized rats	(180) (181)
Salix matsudana leaves	Salix matsudana Koidz.	Polyphenol fractions, apigenin-7-O-d-glucoside, luteolin-7-O-d-glucoside and chrysoeriol-7-O-d-glucoside	Body weight, parametrial adipose tissue weights, TC ↓	α-amylase and palmitic acid uptake into small intestinal ↓ Norepinephrine-induced lipolysis ↑	HFD mice	(182) (183)
Semen Cassiae	Cassia obtusifolia L.	Water extract	TC, TG, LDL, apoB, body weight, Lee’s index, insulin, MDA↓		Hyperlipidemic mice, HFD rat	(184) (185)
Tea	Camellia sinensis	Black tea, green tea, water extracts, crude tea polysaccharides, tea polysaccharide fraction, oolong tea	FBG, phosphate, body weight, GSP, TC, TG, FFA, LDL, systolic blood pressure, LPO ↓ GSH, vitamin, glucose tolerance, adiponectin, LDL particle size, insulin, HDL↑	Insulin response, enzyme activities of carbohydrate metabolism and antioxidant defenses, PPARα and PPARγ ↑ Weight of the intestine ↓	Healthy humans, HFD rats, T1DM (alloxan) mice, T1DM (STZ) rats, KK-A(y)/TaJcl mice, fructose-fed hamster, patients with coronary artery disease	(186) (187) (188) (189) (190) (191) (192) (193) (194)

ACTH, Adrenocorticotropic hormone; APOE, apolipoprotein E; FBG, fasting blood glucose; FFA, free fatty acids; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; HFD, high-fat diet; HMG-CoA reductase, 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase; GSH, Glutathione; GSP, glucosylated serum protein; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; LPO, lipid peroxidation; MDA, malondialdehyde; PPARγ, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ; Ref., reference; SOD, superoxidase dismutase; TC, total cholesterol; TG, triglycerides; VLDL, very low-density lipoprotein.