Table 1.
Literature review on the in vitro and in vivo anti-diabetic activity of various herbs and spices.
| Plant Name | Common Name | Part Evaluated | In Vitro Anti-Diabetic Effects | In Vivo Anti-Diabetic Effects | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pimenta Dioica | Allspice | Berries | Alpha-glucosidase and alpha-amylase inhibitory, increased insulin-stimulated glucose metabolism in adipocytes | Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats-improves antioxidant status | [27,28,29] |
| Pimpinella anisum | Aniseed | Seeds | Alpha-glucosidase, alpha-amylase, HMGR and pancreatic lipase inhibitory activity | Diabetic patients-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia, improved antioxidant status | [30,31,32] |
| Ocimum basillicum | Basil | Leaves | Alpha-glucosidase, alpha-amylase, aldose reductase, pancreatic lipase inhibitory activity, increases insulin-stimulated glucose metabolism in adipocytes, increase GLUT4 translocation | Alloxan/streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia, improved antioxidant status, increased liver glycogen content, improved liver function | [27,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42] |
| Laurus nobilis | Bay leaves | Leaves | Alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activity; increases insulin-stimulated glucose metabolism in adipocytes | Type 2 diabetic patients-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia | [27,43,44,45] |
| Piper nigrum | Black pepper | Fruit and leaves | Alpha-glucosidase, alpha-amylase and aldose reductase inhibitory activity, increased glucose consumption by adipocytes, induced transactivation of PPARA | Alloxan/streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia, increased serum insulin levels, improved antioxidant status, improved liver function | [40,42,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54] |
| Carum carvi | Caraway | Fruit/seeds | Induced transactivation of PPARA | Alloxan/streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia, increased serum insulin levels, improved antioxidant status | [49,55,56,57,58,59] |
| Elettaria cardamomum | Cardamom | Seeds and leaves | No significant studies identified | Alloxan-induced diabetic rats-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia, decreased plasma insulin levels, improved liver function | [60,61,62,63] |
| Cinnamomum verum | Cinnamon | Bark | Alpha-glucosidase, alpha-amylase, aldose reductase inhibitory activity, increased insulin-stimulated glucose metabolism in adipocytes, increased expression and translocation of GLUT4 and GLUT1, induced transactivation of PPARA and PPARG | Alloxan/streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia, increased plasma insulin levels, improved liver function, increased GLP1 levels, increased pyruvate kinase activity, decreased PEPCK activity | [27,42,60,64,65,66,67,68,69] |
| Syzygium aromaticum | Clove | Flower buds | Alpha-glucosidase, alpha-amylase, PEPCK and G6Pase inhibitory activity, increased insulin-stimulated glucose metabolism in adipocytes, induced transactivation of PPARG | Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia, improved antioxidant status, improved liver function, reduced expression of GLUT2, SGLT1, alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase in rat small intestine, increased glycogen content of liver and muscles, increased activity of hexokinase in liver and muscle | [27,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79] |
| Cuminum cyminum | Cumin | Seeds | Alpha-glucosidase, alpha-amylase, aldose reductase inhibitory activity, induced transactivation of PPARG, stimulated glucose uptake in myotubes | Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia, reduced/ increased serum insulin levels depending on model, improved antioxidant status, increased liver and skeletal muscle content | [42,70,80,81,82,83,84,85] |
| Anethum graveolens | Dill | Aerial parts and seeds | No significant studies identified | Alloxan/streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia, improved antioxidant status | [86,87,88,89] |
| Foeniculum vulgare | Fennel | Seeds and leaves | Alpha-glucosidase, alpha-amylase, aldose reductase inhibitory activity, increased glucose consumption by adipocytes | Alloxan/streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia, increased serum insulin levels, improved antioxidant status, improved liver function, increased liver glycogen content, increased liver and kidney hexokinase activity | [40,42,90,91,92,93,94,95] |
| Trigonella foenum-graecum | Fenugreek | Seeds | Alpha-glucosidase, alpha-amylase, aldose reductase, pancreatic lipase inhibitory activity, induced transactivation of PPARG, PPARD and PPARA | Alloxan/streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia, increased serum insulin levels, improved antioxidant status, improved liver function, increased liver, muscle and kidney glycogen content, reduced activity of intestinal maltase, sucrase and lactase, intestinal lipase, alpha-amylase, glycogen phosphorylase and G6Pase, increased activity of glycogen synthase, hexokinase, PPARG, PPARA and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase | [42,69,96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106] |
| Zingiber officinale | Ginger | Root | Alpha-glucosidase, alpha-amylase, aldose reductase, pancreatic lipase inhibitory activity, increased GLUT4, increased glucose consumption by adipose tissues | Alloxan/streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia, increased serum insulin levels, improved liver function, increased activity of liver glucokinase, phosphofructokinase, and pyruvate kinase | [65,101,107,108,109,110,111,112] |
| Humulus lupulus | Hops | Cones and leaves | Alpha-glucosidase, alpha-amylase, aldose reductase, pancreatic lipase inhibitory activity, induced PPARG and PPARA transactivation; induced FXR activity | Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia, increased hepatic glycogen content, reduced expression of hepatic GLUT2 and hepatic acetyl-CoA carboxylase, increased hepatic FAS expression. Diabetic KK-Ay mice-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia, increased expression of acyl-CoA oxidase, fatty acid translocase, lipoprotein lipase and PPARA, reduced expression of SRE-BP1, FAS, AceCS, SCD-1, ACL, PEPCK, G6Pase, and FBP1. | [113,114,115,116,117,118,119,120] |
| Melissa officinalis | Lemon balm | Leaves | Alpha-glucosidase, alpha-amylase, pancreatic lipase inhibitory activity, induced activation of PPARA, PPARD, and PPARG, increased glucose consumption through adipocytes, increased expression of SREBP1, FABP4, fatty acid transport protein 4, CD36 molecule, PDK4, LXRA, lipogenic stearoyl CoA desaturase | Alloxan/streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia, increased serum insulin levels | [40,101,121,122,123,124,125] |
| Cymbopogon citratus | Lemongrass | Leaves | Alpha-glucosidase, alpha-amylase, aldose reductase inhibitory activity | Poloxamer-47-induced type 2 diabetic rats-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia, reduced serum insulin levels and insulin resistance, improved antioxidant status, increased GLP1 expression | [126,127,128,129,130] |
| Glycyrrhiza glabra | Liquorice | Root | Alpha-glucosidase, alpha-amylase, aldose reductase, PTP1B inhibitory activity, induced PPARG activation, increased insulin-stimulated glucose uptake by adipocytes, stimulated glucose-mediated insulin secretion from pancreatic islet cells, increased the expression of PDX-1 and GCK | Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia, increased/decreased serum insulin levels depending on model, improved antioxidant status, improved liver function, increased liver glycogen content, increased expression of PPARG and GLUT4 in muscles | [64,131,132,133,134,135,136,137,138,139,140,141,142,143] |
| Origanum marjorana | Marjoram | Leaves | Alpha-glucosidase, aldose reductase, DPP4, PTP1B inhibitory activity, induced activation of PPARA and PPARG; | Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia, increased/ decreased serum insulin levels depending on model, improved liver function, increased liver glycogen content, increased expression of adiponectin, lipoprotein lipase and PPARG in adipose tissue, decreased expression of leptin | [84,144,145,146,147,148,149] |
| Myristica fragrans | Nutmeg | Seed | Alpha-glucosidase, alpha-amylase, PTP1B inhibitory activity, induced PPARG and PPARA activation, increased expression of lipoprotein lipase, FAS, aP2, IRS2, CEBPA, GLUT4, CD36, CPT-1, PDK4, and acyl-CoA oxidase, stimulated phosphorylation of AMPK in myoblasts, stimulated the release of insulin from islet cells, increased phosphorylation of insulin receptor in myeloid cells | Alloxan/streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia, reduced serum insulin levels, increased expression of CD36, CPT-1, PDK4, acyl-CoA oxidase, lipoprotein lipase, glycerol kinase in adipose tissue, increased expression of CPT-1, LPL, ACO and CYP4A in the liver | [49,81,150,151,152,153,154,155,156] |
| Origanum vulgare | Oregano | Leaves | Alpha-glucosidase, alpha-amylase, aldose reductase, DPP4, PTP1B inhibitory activity, induced activation of PPARG and PPARD; stimulated insulin-dependent glucose uptake in adipocytes | Alloxan/streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia, increased serum insulin levels, increased liver and muscle glycogen content, reduced pancreatic alpha-amylase activity | [102,121,144,157,158,159,160,161] |
| Capsicum annuum | Paprika | Fruits | Alpha-glucosidase, alpha-amylase inhibitory activity | Alloxan-induced diabetic rats-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia | [162,163,164] |
| Petroselinum crispum | Parsley | Leaves | No significant studies identified | Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia, increased serum insulin levels, improved antioxidant status, improved liver function, increased liver and muscle glycogen content, increased liver pyruvate kinase activity | [165,166,167,168,169] |
| Rosmarinus officinalis | Rosemary | Leaves | Alpha-glucosidase, alpha-amylase, pancreatic lipase, DPP4, PTP1B inhibitory activity, induced activation of PPARG, increased glucose consumption by adipocytes, increased AMPK phosphorylation in liver cells; decreased expression of G6Pase and acetyl-CoA carboxylase B, increased expression of low-density lipoprotein receptor, SIRT1 and PPARG-coactivator 1, promoted GLUT4 translocation | Alloxan/streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia, increased serum insulin levels, improved antioxidant status, improved liver function, reduced intestinal glucosidase activity, modulated activity of hexokinase, pyruvate kinase, G6Pase, FBP1, and glycogen metabolism | [40,64,68,101,144,161,170,171,172,173,174,175,176,177] |
| Crocus sativus | Saffron | Flower | Stimulated glucose uptake by skeletal muscle cells, increased phosphorylation of AMPK, increased GLUT4 translocation, induced activation of PPARA | Alloxan/streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia, increased serum insulin levels, improved antioxidant status improved liver, kidney and pancreatic B-cell function | [178,179,180,181,182,183,184] |
| Salvia officinalis | Sage | Leaves | Alpha-glucosidase, alpha-amylase inhibitory activity, induced activation of PPARG, stimulated insulin-dependent glucose uptake in adipocytes | Alloxan/streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia, increased serum insulin levels, improved liver and kidney function, increased GLUT4 expression | [62,102,121,185,186,187,188] |
| Illicium verum | Star anise | Fruits and seeds | Alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activity | Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats-improved oral glucose tolerance test | [152] |
| Thymus vulgaris | Thyme | Aerial parts | Alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activity, induced activation of PPAR, stimulated glucose uptake by adipocytes and myotubes | Alloxan/streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia, improved antioxidant status, improved liver and kidney functions | [102,189,190,191,192,193] |
| Curcuma longa | Turmeric | Roots | Alpha-glucosidase, alpha-amylase, aldose reductase inhibitory activity, induced activation of PPARG, stimulated insulin secretion from pancreatic cells, stimulated glucose uptake in muscle tissue | Alloxan/streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats/ KK-Ay diabetic mice-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia, increased in serum insulin levels, improved antioxidant status, improved liver function, increased activity of cholesterol-7a-hydroxylase and hepatic HMGR | [67,80,194,195,196,197,198,199,200,201,202,203,204,205,206] |
| Achillea millefolium | Yarrow | Aerial parts | Alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activity, increased expression of PPARG and GLUT4, stimulated insulin secretion by pancreatic cells | Alloxan/streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats-reduced hyperglycemia, reduced hyperlipidemia, increased serum insulin levels, improved liver and pancreas function | [207,208,209] |
AceCS: acetyl-CoA synthetase 2; ACO: 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid oxidase; ACL: adenosine triphosphate citrate lyase; AMPK: 5’ adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase; CD36: cluster of differentiation 36; CEBPA: CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein alpha; CPT1: carnitine palmitoyltransferase-I; CYP4a: cytochrome P450 4A; DPP4: dipeptidyl peptidase 4; FABP4: fatty acid binding protein 4; FAS: fatty acid synthase; FBP1: fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase; FXR: farnesoid X receptor; G6Pase: glucose-6-phosphatase; GCK: glucokinase; GLP1: glucagon-like peptide 1; GLUT1/2/4: glucose transporter type 1/2/4; HMGR: 3-hyroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase; IRS2: insulin receptor substrate 2; LPL: lipoprotein lipase; LXRA: liver X receptor alpha; PDX1: insulin promoter factor 1; PDK4: pyruvate dehydrogenase lipoamide kinase isozyme 4; PEPCK: phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase; PPARA/D/G: peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha/delta/gamma; PTP1B: protein tyrosine phosphatase non-receptor type 1; SCD: stearoyl-CoA desaturase; SGLT1: sodium-glucose co-transporter-1; SIRT1: sirtuin 1; SREBP1: sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1.