PHYTOCHEMICALS AND COMPLICATIONS IN TYPE 2 DIABETES-AN UPDATE

Type 2 diabetes is a serious health problem globally. In type 2 diabetes insulin resistance in various tissues such as liver, muscle and beta-cell is the major pathophysiological defects. People with long term uncontrolled hyperglycemia are at risk of developing a number of serious and life-threatening complications which mainly affect the heart and blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves. Current drug development strategy has focused towards the control of hyperglycemia but the treatment of severe complications has been neglected. Many herbs including Momordica charantia, Coccinia indica, Ficus carica, Gymnema sylvestre, Ocimum santum and many more have traditionally been used for the treatment of diabetes and associated complications. Natural products have been reported to have their efficacy in diabetes and its complications by protecting pancreatic beta-cells, increasing insulin sensitivity, reducing oxidative stress and by targeting various proteins. Thus, now a day plant based natural product (phytoconstituents) have been the basis of drug development program for the treatment of various diseases. The present review summarizes the latest updates on phytochemicals from different class of secondary metabolites with potential effect in type 2 diabetic complications.