Table 1.
Sesquiterpene lactones with potential positive effects on MetS, biological effects and mechanisms implicated (structures illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2).
| No. | Compound | Class | Plant source | Biological effects | Mechanisms implicated | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Enhydrin | Melampolide | Smallanthus sonchifolius | Hypoglycemic (in vivo) | Post-prandial glucose levels (↓) Inhibition of α-glucosidase | Genta et al., 2010; Serra-Barcellona et al., 2017 |
| 2 | Polymatin A | Melampolide | Smallanthus macroscyphus | Hypoglycemic (in vivo) | Post-prandial glucose levels (↓) | Serra-Barcellona et al., 2014 |
| 3 | 20-dehydroeucannabinolide | Heliangolide | Helianthus annuus | Antidiabetic (in vivo) Antioxidant (in vitro) | Fasting blood glucose level (↓) DPPH radical and NO scavenging activities | Onoja et al., 2020 |
| 4 | Eremanthin | Guaianolide | Costus speciosus | Hypoglycemic, and hypolipidemic (in vivo) Antioxidant (in vivo) | Blood glucose levels (↓), HbA1c (↓), plasma insulin (↑), tissue glycogen (↑) TC, TG and LDL-C (↓); HDL-C (↑) TBARS levels (↓), GSH (↑), SOD, CAT and GPx (↑) in brain, liver, heart, kidney, and pancreas | Eliza et al., 2009a, 2009b, 2010 |
| 5 | Costunolide | Germacrolide | Costus speciosus | |||
| 6 | Alantolactone | Eudesmanolide | Inula helenium | Antiinflammatory-associated to glucose intolerance and IR (in vitro) Antiinflamatory- obesity-induced IR (in vitro) Attenuates lipid accumulation (in vitro) Antiinflamatory- associated to diabetic nephropathy (in vivo) | STAT3 inhibitor. Inhibition of the TLR4 gene expression. Inhibition of TLR4-JNK signaling. IL-6 and MCP-1 (↓). APOC3 expression at both mRNA and protein levels (↓) TNF-α and IL-6 (↓) in diabetic kidney. Serum creatinine and urea nitrogen levels (↓). | Kim et al., 2017a, 2017b; Yang et al., 2018; Zhu et al., 2020 |
| 7 | Tirotundin | 3,10-epoxygermacranolide | Tithonia diversifolia | Antidiabetic (in vitro) | Dual PPARα/γ agonists | Lin, 2012 |
| 8 | Tagitinin A | |||||
| 9 | Tagitinin G | Anti-hyperglycemic (in vitro) | Glucose uptake in 3T3-L1 adipocytes (↑). | Zhao et al., 2012 | ||
| 10 | Tagitinin I | |||||
| 11 | 1β-hydroxydiversifolin-3-O-methyl ether | |||||
| 12 | 1β-hydroxytirotundin-3-O-methyl ether | |||||
| 13 | Micheliolide | Guaianolide | Magnolia compressa | Anti-inflammatory- associated to diabetic nephropathy (in vitro) Anti-hepatic steatosis (in vivo and in vitro) |
Suppressed the glucose-stimulated degradation of IκBα and the subsequent activation of NF-κB in rat glomerular mesangial cells. MCP-1, TGF-β1 and FN (↓) PPAR-γ expression (↑) AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway (↑) NF-кB signaling pathway (↓) |
Jia et al., 2013; Zhong et al., 2018 |
| 14 | Byrsonine A | Guaianolide dimer | Byrsonima crassifolia | Hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic and antioxidant (in vivo) | Blood glucose levels (↓), serum insulin and pancreatic insulin levels (↑) G6Pase activity (↓) and GK activity (↑) TC, TG, LDL-C and VLDL (↓); HDL-C (↑) TBARS levels (↓), SOD, CAT and GPx (↑) in liver, kidneys, and pancreas TNF-α levels (↓). |
Gutiérrez and Ramirez, 2016 |
| 15 | Byrsonine B | |||||
| 16 | Lactucain C | Guaianolide dimer | Lactuca indica | Antidiabetic (in vivo) | Blood glucose levels (↓) | Hou et al., 2003 |
| 17 | 8-deoxylactucin | Guaianolide | Cichorium intybus | Anti-inflammatory | Inhibition of NF-kB activation. COX-2 inhibition. |
Cavin et al., 2005 |
| 18 | Artemisinin | Cadinanolide | Artemisia annua | Vascular protection (in vivo) Antidiabetic (in vivo) |
MCP-1, IFN-γ, IL-6 and TNF-α (↓) Inhibition of atherosclerotic plaque formation Promote the conversion of pancreatic glucagon-producing α cells to insulin-secreting β cells |
Cao et al., 2020; Li et al., 2017 |
| 19 | Scoporanolide | Guaianolide | Artemisia scoparia | Antihypertensive (in vivo) | Inhibition of plasma ACE activity | Cho et al., 2016 |
| 20 | Estafiatin | |||||
| 21 | Cumambrin A | Guaianolide | Chrysanthemum boreale | Antihypertensive (in vivo) Vasorelaxant (ex vivo) |
Normalization of blood pressure | Hong et al., 1999, 2005 |
Reduction (↓); increment (↑); thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS); reduced glutathione (GSH); superoxide dismutase (SOD); catalase (CAT); glutathione peroxidase (GPx); insulin resistance (IR); Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4); c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK); interleukin 6 (IL-6); monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1); Apolipoprotein C3 (APOC3); AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK); peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors α and γ (PPARα/γ); nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB); transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β1); fibronectin (FN); glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase); glucokinase (GK); cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2); interferon-gamma (IFN-γ); tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α); angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE).