Table 2.

Saponins in Natural Products That Have a Direct or Indirect Effect on Diabetes Pathways

Type of Saponin	Tissue	Effect	Ref
Panax notoginseng saponins	Skeletal myoblast cell line	Increased insulin-induced glucose uptake, reduced blood glucose and serum insulin levels, and improved glucose tolerance	[24]
Saponins of Momordica charantia	Type 2 diabetic mice	Restored the body weight, reduced fasting blood glucose levels, ameliorated insulin resistance, and increased the proportion of hepatic phosphorylated adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (p-AMPK)/total protein	[25]
Saponins of Stauntonia chinensis	Type 2 diabetic db/db mice	Exhibited hypoglycemic activities and modulated hyperlipidemia that was associated with type 2 diabetes	[26]
Saponins of Boussingaultia gracilis	Three-week old male mice	Reduced the hepatic damage underlying steatosis, modulated lipid metabolism, enhanced adipocyte thermogenesis, restored insulin sensitivity and glucose homeostasis, and alleviated inflammation status	[27]
Saponins of Catharanthus roseus	Streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice	Had a hypoglycemic effect that may be explained by an increase in insulin secretion	[28]
Panax noto ginseng saponins	Subunits of NF-κB p50 and p65 from macrophages in culture medium	Anti-inflammatory properties, inhibition of platelet aggregation, improvement of blood flow and insulin resistance	[29]
Saponin from sea cucumber	C57BL/6 mice fed with a high fat diet	Inhibited lipid synthesis and accelerated lipid β-oxidation and glycolysis in the liver	[30]
Balanites aegyptiaca Del. (Zygophyllaceae) fruits	Streptozotocin-induced diabetic male albino Wistar rats	Reduced the fasting plasma glucose level and total cholesterol	[31]
Saponin Extracts from Dianthus basuticus	α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities in vitro	Exhibited a competitive mode of inhibition on α-amylase and promising antidiabetic and antioxidant activity	[32]