A user-friendly sugar stevia: Role in diabetes-associated health adversities

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus, “the actual sugar rollercoaster”, is emerging as a global threat affecting over half a billion individuals globally. Living with diabetes is like walking the sugar tightrope, with one misstep in medication or diet, resulting in blood sugar levels swinging dangerously out of control. It is a primary health challenge acting as a catalyst for several fatal secondary complications such as neurodegeneration, obesity, liver, cardiac, and renal injury, along with sexual dysfunction and metabolic syndrome, thus making its management crucial for overall well-being. Stevia, present in the perennial shrub Stevia rebaudiana, is a potentially bioactive “not too sweet, bio-sweetener”, actively being utilized and researched owing to its ability to sweeten beverages and food products without elevating blood glucose levels, instead, reducing the blood glucose and cholesterol levels, and managing blood pressure. In addition, it has also been reported to possess anticarcinogenic, antioxidant, antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antitumor activities, thus justifying the title “user-friendly sugar”. However, a comprehensive review of the potential bioactivities of stevia against diabetes-associated fatal health adversities is yet to be reported. The recent collective efforts to explore the true potential of stevia have been successful enough to report its ability to modulate oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, autophagy, adipogenesis, glucose uptake, and insulin resistance using various in vitro and in vivo models. This review provides an in-depth journey of the “unhidden, yet unreviewed” magic of stevia against the prominently increasing diabetes-associated risks.