Herbal remedies are used to manage type 2 diabetes mellitus (type 2 DM) as the sole treatment or as a complementary therapy. Limitations of herbal remedies, such as poor stability and limited absorption, impede their development as therapeutic agents, which could be overcome by nanoformulations.
Objectives
This review attempts to summarize the studies reported between 2009 and 2020 in the development of medicinal plant-based nanoformulations for the management of type 2 DM, discuss formulation methods, mechanisms of action, and identify gaps in the literature to conduct future research on nanoparticle-based herbal treatment options targeting type 2 DM.
Methods
To retrieve articles published between January 2009 and December 2020, the electronic databases PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar were searched with the keywords nanoparticle, plant, and diabetes in the entire text. Peer-reviewed research articles on herbal nanoformulations published in English-language based on in vitro and/or in vivo models of type 2 DM and/or its complications were included. The literature search and selection of titles/abstracts were carried out independently by 2 authors. The list of full-text articles was selected considering inclusion and exclusion criteria, with the agreement of all the authors.
Results
Among the reported studies, 68% of the studies were on inorganic herbal nanoformulations, whereas 17% and 8% were of polymer-based and lipid-based herbal nanoformulations, respectively. Some of the important biological properties of nanoformulations included improvement in glycemic control and insulin levels, inhibition of the formation of advanced glycation end products, and regeneration of pancreatic β cells. The aforementioned properties were observed by screening nanoformulations using in vitro cellular and noncellular models, as well as in vivo animal models of type 2 DM studied for acute or subacute durations. Only 2 clinical trials with patients with diabetes were reported, indicating the need for further research on medicinal plant-based nanoformulations as a therapeutic option for the management of type 2 DM.
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