Table 1.

A summary of the mechanisms through which cinnamic acid and its derivatives could stimulate insulin secretion and improve pancreatic β-cell functionality.

Mechanisms	Effects
Insulin secretion	m-Hydroxycinnamic acid, p-methoxycinnamic acid, and ferulic acid stimulate insulin secretion from INS-1 pancreatic β-cells and the pancreatic rat perfusion technique
	Ferulic acid reduces plasma glucose and increases plasma insulin level in normal rats
	p-Methoxycinnamic acid stimulates insulin secretion through activation of l-type Ca2+ channel
	p-Methoxycinnamic acid reduces plasma glucose and increases plasma insulin level in normal and STZ-induced diabetic rats
	Cinnamic acid enhances glucose-induced insulin secretion in the isolated mice islets
	Cinnamic acid improves glucose tolerance in diabetic rats
	Caffeic acid enhances glucose-induced insulin secretion in INS-1 pancreatic β-cells
Pancreatic β-cell functionality	Ferulic acid regenerates pancreatic islets in STZ-induced diabetic rats and reduces apoptosis and inflammation through a decline in level of IL-1β and TGF-β1
	Ferulic acid increases islet number and sizes and reduced insulitis grades in diabetic rats when co-administration with metformin and thiazolidinedione
	Cinnamic acid prevents palmitic acid-induced lipotoxicity in mouse NIT-1 pancreatic β-cells
	Cinnamic acid inhibits palmitic acid-induced alteration of lipogenic gene and protein expression (AMPK, SREBP-1c, FAS, ACC)