Table 3.
Important anti-diabetic potential and the underlying mechanism of dietary flavonoids in selected rodent T2D models.
| Flavonoids | Structural Formula | Sources | Pathways/Target Molecules | Experimental Model | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flavonols | |||||
| Quercetin | Edgeworthia gardneri | ↑Intracellular Ca2+, ↑the ratio of Bcl-2/BAX, ↑mitochondria membrane potential. | Leprdb/db mouse | [85,88] | |
|
↑Serum insulin levels, ↓MIP-1α, Bax/Bcl2 ratio, protein disulfide isomerase activity | HFD/STZ-induced diabetic rat | [90] | ||
| Rutin | Buckwheat, oranges, grapes, lemons, limes, peaches and berries | ↑Body weight, ↓plasma glucose and HbA1c, proinflammatory cytokines, ↑the depleted liver antioxidant status and serum lipid profile, ↑oxidative stress. | HFD/STZ-induced diabetic rats | [98,99] | |
|
↑Insulin IRS-2/PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β signal pathway, ↑hepatocyte proliferation, ↓blood glucose level and generation of AGEs | Leprdb/db mouse | [95] | ||
Kaempferol
|
Tea, cruciferous vegetables, grapefruit, Gingko biloba L., and some edible berrie | ↑Antioxidant status, ↓of lipid peroxidation markers, ↑membrane-bound ATPases. | HFD/STZ-induced diabetic rat | [103,105] | |
| Troxerutin | Sophora japonica | ↓Heart rate, blood pressure, blood glucose and plasma triglyceride levels | HFD/STZ induced diabetic rat | [106] | |
|
|||||
| Flavanones | |||||
| Naringin | Citrus fruits and Grapefrui | ↓α-glucosidase activity | Leprdb/db mouse | [125,127] | |
|
↑Cholesterol transport and paraoxonase activity,↓ levels of glucose, HbA1c, MDA, NO, TNF-α and IL-6 | HFD/STZ-induced diabetic rats | [129,130] | ||
| Hesperidin | Citrus fruits | ↓Hyperglycemia,↑plasma insulin, ↓PEPCK and G6Pase expression, ↑β-cell function | Leprdb/db mouse | [128] | |
|
|||||
| Isoflavones | |||||
| Genistein | Soybeans and soy food | ↓Plasma levels of corticosterone, ↓expression of 11b-HSD1 | Lepob/ob mouse | [118] | |
|
↓hyperglycemia, ↓glucose tolerance, and blood insulin level, ↑β-cell mass | HFD/STZ-induced diabetic rat | [114] | ||
| ↑GLUT4 expression level and larger soleus muscle fiber areas, ↑estrogen receptor signaling | ZDF rat | [115] | |||
| Daidzein | Soybeans and legumes | ↓Fasting glucose, lipid levels and insulin resistance, ↑AMPK activation | KK-Ay and Lepob/ob mouse | [124] | |
|
↑insulin/glucagon ratio, ↓hepatic glucokinase activity and hepatic fatty acid synthase, ↓plasma total cholesterol, triglyceride | Leprdb/db mouse | [120] | ||
| Anthocyanidins | |||||
| Cyanidin 3-glucoside | Fruits, vegetables, berries, and red wine | ↓ Blood glucose levels, ↑ insulinsensitivity, ↑AMPK activation, ↑GLUT-4, | KK-Ay mouse | [140] | |
|
↓Macrophage infiltration and the mRNA levels of MCP-1, TNF-α and IL-6 | HFD fed and Leprdb/db mouse | [141] | ||
| Flavan-3-ols (Flavanols) | |||||
Catechins
|
Green tea | ↓Glucose levels,↑glucose tolerance,↓ROS decreased JNK phosphorylation,↑GLUT-4 translocation | KK-Ay mouse, HFD-induced obese rat | [135] | |
| Flavones | |||||
Apigenin
|
Celery, parsley | ↓Glucose, serum lipid, ICAM-1 and insulin resistance index, ↑glucose tolerance | HFD/STZ-induced diabetic rat | [136] | |
| Baicalein | ↓Blood glucose, serum lipid, ↑SOD activity,↑glucose tolerance, | HFD/STZ-induced diabetic rat | [136] | ||
|
↓hyperglycemia, ↑insulin secretion | HFD/STZ-induced diabetic mouse | [138] |
↑: increase; ↓: decrease.