Trigonelline: An Emerging Paradigm for Effective Therapy in Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is recognized as a critical priority because of its epidemic nature. Successful diabetes treatment is not yet established and nowadays, diabetes is considered a global problem. Recent medications have not proved to be complete treating agents because, until now no one had completely cured diabetes. Current antidiabetic drugs have many undesirable side effects. So, an alternative therapy is required. Nowadays, various plant species are used worldwide as hypoglycemic, antihyperglycemic, antidiabetic and antihyperlipidemic agents. A number of plants contain active metabolites such as alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides, carotenoids, terpenoids, etc., which are extensively used in antidiabetic drugs. About 400 plant species have been reported as having hypoglycemic activity. From these medicinal plants and their active components, various herbal drugs are being formed. This review aims to understand different plant species used to date for treating diabetes, the therapeutic potential of fenugreek, the active compounds isolated from fenugreek, the chemical structure of trigonelline, therapeutic uses of trigonelline as an antidiabetic agent. Research papers, manuscripts and review papers were searched and relevant contents were studied. One hundred sixty-three papers were included in this review. The review resulted in a better understanding of the use of trigonelline in diabetes treatment.